


A Light To Call Home

by DeathWriter97



Category: Ghost Hunt
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family Reunions, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Blood, Minor Character Death, Siblings, Think Bloodstained Labrynth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:29:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24759349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathWriter97/pseuds/DeathWriter97
Summary: Lin is sent all the way to Japan in search of a girl. Mai works hard to survive, dreaming of a place to call home. Will they find what they're looking for in each other? Will they ever come home? Or will a dark fate tear them apart before they reach that light?((Also on FF. Net))
Relationships: Lin Koujo/Taniyama Mai
Comments: 6
Kudos: 53





	1. Can't Seem to Find My Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a sibling AU that I wrote. It turned more into a Lin/Mai fluff piece, though. Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Language Key: 
> 
> Regular = Japanese  
> \- Chinese -  
> [English]

With the lights off, the room looked like every hotel room he'd stayed in before. Here, in the dark, Lin could imagine that he was simply on a case. In London. Far, far away from Japan.

He could pretend that Noll and Eugene were in the room adjacent to his. Although, that was a bit more difficult. Had they really been there, he'd have reason enough to be suspicious. They were rarely this quiet on the first night of a case - well, Eugene wasn't.

But burying his head in the soft, fluffy hotel chain pillows would not alter his reality. Despite choosing a hotel that he knew would suit his needs, it couldn't change his location. Eugene and Noll were still safe in their English home. And Lin was alone in Japan.

All parties would've preferred a different arrangement. But the twins' mother was certain that going on this trip would spell doom for one of her children. Eugene had been greatly disappointed by her decision. Noll was irritated by her lack of faith in their capabilities. Still, they reluctantly stayed behind to appease their mother. Well, Eugene was reluctant, anyway.

Noll didn't care if he went or not - so long as the job was done properly. Which is why they sent Lin. He was the only person the Davis family trusted with such a personal and complex issue.

Lucky him.

But if he was being honest, he'd do anything for that family. Even if that meant flying into enemy lines. Even if that meant following the proverbial bread crumbs to find one of those enemies amongst the sea of her kind - their kind.

Although, he didn't see them in that way anymore. They were just Gene and Noll: two kids adopted by English parents who just so happened to share half their DNA with an enemy.

A selfish, stupid enemy who had somehow fathered (and abandoned) three children.

Even if he wasn't one of the horrid race, Lin still wouldn't have any good feelings for a man such as he. No, man was too strong of a term - coward, maybe.

Lin still wasn't entirely sure how the coward managed to find the twins. But sure enough, he had. And he was quick to try and weasel his way back into their lives, too. Far too quick.

It was obvious, despite his display of guilt (or maybe because). He was on his knees begging for forgiveness, supposedly. But beneath it all, what he was truly begging for was their honorable reputation, status, and of course, their money.

Although the DNA test proved he was indeed their father, the twins had enough of him. Well, Noll was done with him before he'd walked through the door. Gene had given it his best shot, but even he didn't want to be around him too much.

They did their best to distance themselves. But the persistence, with which he'd crawled out of whatever hole he'd been in to find them, would not let him be phased out quietly. Fully prepared for a confrontation, they were more than ready to tell him off. But he had an ace up his sleeve.

Another child; a girl; a little sister of their own.

She was only about a year younger than they were. That, and her name, was all he could tell them. The reason for this was that he had abandoned her when she was five years old.

Well, that wasn't all he had told them. He did mention how he met her Chinese mother, who was visiting America. She didn't speak a word of Japanese, but somehow he'd convinced her to run away with him to his home country. So, he could get away from his first wife and young infants. Only to abandon his second family shortly thereafter.

Lin couldn't imagine what that poor woman must have gone through. She'd been undoubtedly deceived and then left on her own in a foreign country. She was far from any family or friends who might have given her some comfort. She was all alone with her young daughter to care for.

When Lin and the twins were doing their research, he'd read of her passing. It was painful to read, despite him never knowing her personally. But just the thought of the injustice of it all. To die on enemy soil after being treated in such a way.

It was part of the reason why he was so agreeable when asked to carry out this mission. Even though it put him in the midst of the enemies. He felt it his duty, his way of honoring his fellow Chinese sister, to prevent her daughter from having the same fate.

So, here he was, in Japan. The alarm clock on the night stand read that it was two in the morning. Which meant that it was around five in the afternoon back home. Naturally, sleep evaded him. But this was for more reasons than jet lag. His closing thought as he finally drifted off was to hope he could finish this task quickly and return home.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mai had learned the importance of prioritizing at a young age. When she was little, she prioritized food over shiny new toys (her second hand, one-eyed 'fashion doll' had a way cooler backstory than fresh out of the box Barbie, anyways). When she was in junior high, she prioritized her mother's health over going to a fancy, smarty-pants school. And when she was supposed to be in high school, she prioritized rent over education altogether.

It had been a difficult decision. But after one year completely on her own, she realized she couldn't keep up with both her studies and the cost of living. No matter how lenient the school was, they wouldn't give her grades she didn't deserve. And since she couldn't attend any classes, she couldn't pass the tests or do any homework. So, she dropped out.

She didn't regret it. Or rather, she wasn't going to let herself regret it. So what if she didn't have a high school degree? She could still work the same odds and ends jobs she'd been working since junior high. She might not get a cushy office job, but she wasn't too bad off. She couldn't stand to be cooped up too long, anyhow.

Besides, just because she wasn't getting an education from an institution didn't mean she couldn't educate herself. Every time she wasn't working (or sleeping), she was at the library or traveling around, always learning something. Even at work, an illustrious (chain) hotel, she found new things every day. The bassist of a rock band that frequently did events at the hotel taught her how to play guitar (and some incantations to ward off spirits). He and a young priest visiting a nearby church answered many questions she had about paranormal and the like. And a shinto priestess, who was the residing nurse, taught her the Nine Cuts. And how to murder someone and not get caught, but that's another story.

She even taught herself English. Well, mostly. She tried her best, but in the end she hired a tutor. He was a high school student at the time (older than her, actually), so his rates were cheap. He wanted a little extra cash for when he started college in the next year. Plus, it looked good on his transcripts. But Mai was just happy she earned a new skill - and pleasant company. With his help, she was now fluent in three languages.

No matter how many languages she knew, however, it wouldn't help her talk to this one visitor. He'd been a guest at the hotel for three months now and he'd taken breakfast there nearly every day. On most of these mornings, Mai would be the one to serve him. Probably because no one else wanted to. It wasn't that he was unnecessarily rude or anything. He just seemed to naturally put off an aura of unpleasantness. It made most of the servers uncomfortable.

Mai didn't mind, though. In fact, she barely noticed it after the first week. Her concerns were more that she knew next to nothing about him after three months. She knew he was an early riser. He liked coffee. He was rarely seen without his laptop. His eyes were two different colors. This last fact came as a complete surprise, as his grey eye was the only one visible. But Mai happened to get a glance at the eye beneath his fringe - and it was blue. Quite a beautiful blue, too. She had to look away before she got caught staring.

Because one other thing she had come to know (upon first glance, really), was that he was one handsome fellow.

This was especially true when he smiled. But she had only seen that like once. And it was so brief, she was pretty sure she'd imagined it.

To be fair, she'd been engrossed in her own affairs. An older Chinese gentleman had been on a tour of Asia (as some sort of prize he'd won). His group was staying at the hotel while they hit the Japanese destinations. The poor man ended up separated from them and had no way of communicating this to the staff. Of course, this caused him to become very irate. Luckily, Mai happened to be passing by. She quickly rectified the situation. After she heard him out, she was able to calm him down and get him reconnected to his group.

As she was leaving with him, they happened to pass by her handsome mystery man. This was when the possible smile occurred. She wasn't sure what could've caused it. But she really wanted to recreate it. This was a difficult task, of course. Since all her attempts at talking to him were met with abrupt, one word responses. She'd been working with the public long enough to know when her presence was no longer desired. That didn't stop her from trying again the next day - with another smile of her own.

She wasn't sure why she tried so hard. Sure, he was handsome. But was that enough to keep pestering the poor guy? Something about him kept calling out to her, though. Something in her heart was telling her that he was there for a purpose - and that purpose had something to do with her.

Or maybe that was just her romantic, schoolgirl fantasies getting the best of her. Oh well, a girl can dream. And since her dreams lately had mostly been night terrors, she'd take all the happy daydreams she could get. An impossible relationship was far better than getting impaled (or worse).

The nightmares were also why she agreed to work a few hours in the night shift (despite having a morning shift both before and after). Well, that and more money in her pocket, woot. And the fact that it was her friend's band playing that night was just icing on the admittedly sleep-deprived cake.

Her friend, the bassist who taught her how to play guitar, was also a monk. You wouldn't know that by looking at him, though. His long hair and flashy outfits were a stark contrast to what you'd usually envision for a monk. A musician definitely suited his appearance more. But that didn't take away the fact that he was indeed a talented monk. His fans called him Norio, but his real name was Houshou Takigawa. Mai just called him Bou-san.

Another one of her friends whose looks deceived was Ayako Matsuzaki. Her ostentatious appearance and her loud personality didn't quite fit with her shinto priestess occupation. She was the on-site nurse for the hotel. You could usually find her mingling at the hotel restaurant and bar. Like now.

"I still don't get how they let you serve the drinks," Ayako frequently brought this up - especially after having a couple of said drinks.

"That's never stopped you from ordering them," Mai quipped back.

"Yeah, but you're like what? Twelve?"

Mai smiled, "A lady never reveals her age. Isn't that what you always say?"

"That's for women over twenty, like me. And just barely, mind you," Ayako pointed her freshly manicured finger at her. "Not some kid like you. Do you even know what alcohol tastes like?"

"I've had a sip of a few different drinks," Mai shrugged.

She hadn't really cared for the taste of any of them. She wasn't biting at the bit to get to the legal drinking age, for sure. At seventeen, she still had three years to go. Then, she officially (legally) would be considered an adult. And then, she could stop working under the table. Or maybe, at least, use her own name.

She'd been on her own since her mom passed. Her dad had bounced when she was really little. They thought he was dead for the longest time, but records would pop up on occasion to show he was alive in different parts of the country. It was usually a brief appearance every so many years - just enough to not be declared dead. Just enough so that she was not legally an orphan. Just enough to mess up her chances of getting a job the proper way.

No one wanted to hire her without her parents' consent. So, she got a fake last name and declared herself an orphan. No, none of it was legal and she wasn't proud of it. But she did what she had to do to remain independent.

It was kind of nice in some ways. A lot of people in the music industry knew the Taniyama family. They knew the man that disappeared 'from the spotlight'. They knew the daughter that, afterwards, was following in his footsteps before stumbling at the start.

But Mai Shibuya? Nobody knew who that was. Well, except for a few people who frequented the Shipton Hotel in Shibuya. And she liked it that way. She was free (mostly) to live her life the way she wanted to. Without help from the industry. And especially without the help of her basically nonexistent father.

"I'm not sure how many more sips you should have," Mai gestured to Ayako's half empty glass. "Aren't you on call, tonight?"

"This won't bother me," she dismissed Mai's concerns with a wave of her hand.

"Alright, if you say so," Mai shook her head as she turned to the other guests at the bar. She froze as she saw who had joined them.

He stood tall in a dress shirt and vest with his suit jacket folded over his arm. Exhaustion was etched on his face as his hair fringe now concealed both of his beautiful eyes from her view. He chose a bar-stool and nearly slumped over the countertop.

Mai bounced over to him, "What can I get for you, sir?"

He looked up at her, then. His one visible eye was wide in surprise. Then, he furrowed his brows in concern. "I thought you were already a waitress and a maid."

"I'm a little bit of everything, just depends on what the situation calls for. Tonight, we're short staffed, so I'm a bartender," Mai shrugged again, hoping to play it off as normal. Maybe he'd think she just looked young.

He ordered a drink and said nothing else, so she was still none the wiser about his true thoughts. As usual. But she had no time to dwell on it, as Bou-san's band had just finished their set. A myriad of concertgoers came up for refills before the next band took the stage.

One of these concertgoers was a familiar face that had no business coming up to the bar. The young Osamu Yasuhara, who had tutored her in English, stood off to the side. He stood with another kid who looked to be around her age - they both had special bracelets that warned people not to sell them any alcohol.

"Why are you here, Yasuhara?" Mai asked once the mob subsided and the next band began to play.

"To watch a monk in action, of course!" he said with a mischievous grin.

The kid beside him scowled, "This is not what I thought you meant when you brought me here."

Mai bit her lip to fight off a laugh, "And who might you be?"

"Ah, this is Sakauchi-kun. He attends my old high school," Yasu introduced them. "And this cute lady is Mai Shibuya."

"It's nice to meet you, Sakauchi-kun," Mai grinned.

"Likewise, Shibuya-san. Although, I wish it wasn't under these false pretenses,"

"Still, was it any fun?"

The teen pursed his lips in thought, "I suppose the band wasn't bad. Though, I'm not sure it was worth sneaking off of campus for. Their cover of IKUTO's song was pretty good."

Mai faltered at the mere mention of the musician's name. Her trembling fingers caused her to drop the mostly empty glass in her hands. It didn't break (luckily), just clattered noisily on the countertop. Mai busied herself with cleaning up the little bit of liquid that splashed out upon it's crash. All while trying to ignore the pounding heart in her rib cage.

"Come on, that one's so old school," a deep voice spoke from beside her. Mai looked up to catch a wink from her favorite bassist. Who had joined her behind the bar.

"Bou-san, what are you doing?" She put one hand on her hip and tried to sound exasperated, but the grin on her face gave her away. She was always grateful for his presence.

"I'm giving you a helping hand. It's not right to have one little lady all by herself back here," he grinned back, giving her hair a ruffle. He, like Ayako, was none too happy with her work situation. But, unlike Ayako, he knew why she did it.

"So, she gets to work with a pervert. That's great," Ayako rolled her eyes. She had an issue with Bou-san ever since he broke up her 'date' with a known gold-digger. "And if you disapprove of IKUTO so much, why play it?"

"Look, I don't mind the music. He was a talented artist," Bou-san crossed his arms. "He's just not my favorite."

Mai snorted at the ambiguity of that statement. He'd been a huge fan until he got to know her secret. Now, not so much.

"The music isn't your favorite - or is it the man himself?" Leave it to Ayako to get to the heart of it right away.

"No comment,"

"What's wrong? Was he rude to little Takigawa when he asked for an autograph?" Ayako pouted teasingly.

Bou-san barked out a laugh, but didn't respond. The conversation was getting uncomfortable rather quickly for him. Mai was unable to assist him as it was nearly unbearable for her.

"He was quite a controversial person," Yasu piped up, hoping to ease the tension.

"Yeah, didn't he vanish some ten, fifteen years ago?" Ayako recalled.

"Twelve," Twelve years, three months, and fifteen days. Not that she'd been counting. "I mean, I think it's been twelve years."

"That sounds right," Ayako nodded along. "He had a daughter, too. Didn't he? She created a stir there briefly when she tried to get into the music business. What was her name again?"

"Mai Taniyama," Yasu answered right away. Mai kept her head low. Her hands shook on top of the counter. "She vanished, too. Shortly after that."

"Like father, like daughter," Ayako joked, throwing back the last of her drink. Mai couldn't help but flinch at her words.

"I'm sure she had her reasons," Bou-san ground out. His protective instinct went into hyper-drive. Unfortunately, Mai didn't have any spare energy to hold him back. All hers was spent trying not to spiral back down the rabbit hole of her past in front of everyone.

"Still, it is curious, though," Sakauchi commented. Mai had nearly forgotten about him.

"Her mom became sick!" The unexpected words came out louder and sharper than Mai's usual tone. Her heart skipped a beat as several eyes fell upon her. Her next words were much softer, "That-That's what I read in an article, anyways."

Tears threatened to fall as they continued to stare. Perhaps she messed up. Maybe they saw right through her. The world around her started spinning. Her hands would not stop trembling. Her body flushed with heat. Her chest felt cold.

A manicured hand reached out, aiming for her forehead. Mai instinctively jumped back, not expecting the physical contact. She would've fallen had it not been for Bou-san's steady hands. Ayako frowned.

"You've overworked yourself again,"

Mai blinked at the nurse. Overworked herself? She could roll with that. "I-I'm fine."

"Please! We're all standing around talking and you're over here having a mental breakdown," Mai couldn't really argue with her about that. "When's the last time you slept? And I mean actually slept for more than a couple hours at a time."

"Uninterrupted?" Mai asked sheepishly, before pulling herself away from Bou-san. She steadied herself as much as she could, smiling at a scowling Ayako. "See, I'm fine. I only have like another hour and then my shift's over, anyhow."

Ayako's eyes narrowed. Her bright red finger nails tapped on the counter. "You're calling in sick, tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am,"

"And you're going to sleep for at least a full eight hours,"

"...yes, ma'am,"

"Alright, I have to go. You take it easy and let this idiot do most of the work," Ayako shot Bou-san a glare when he started to grumble about being called an idiot.

"I'll be fine, you go," Mai gently nudged her arm with a smile. The woman truly did care about her. It was kind of weird, after being on her own for so long, to have people who worried about her - even without knowing everything about her.

"I'll take care of her, I promise," Bou-san called out. Ayako ignored him as she disappeared into the noisy crowd.

"We should get going, too," Yasuhara reluctantly admitted. "I'll come back again. Maybe after you've gotten some rest."

"See you, Yasu," Mai smiled. "And it was nice meeting you, Sakauchi-kun."

"You, too, ma'am," he nodded, dragging Yasuhara back to his school.

That left Mai and Bou-san with the few customers that wandered over. Bou-san really did most of the work, despite Mai's protests. She felt bad that he was doing her job after he just finished a show. But he wasn't hearing it. While he was tending to another customer, she glanced over and noticed that her handsome stranger was still there. He was still hunched over his drink. The drink appeared to be untouched.

"Lin-san?" His eyes met hers. An intense expression was on his face, but she couldn't decipher what it meant. "Um, is everything okay over here. Do you need anything? Is there anything I can get you?"

His gaze softened and Mai swore she saw his mouth tick up at the corner, "No, thank you. I'm alright, miss."

"O-okay," Mai stammered out. "If you need anything, please let me know."

"Thank you,"

"Mm-hmm," Mai hummed, before heading back towards Bou-san. Before she ended up embarrassing herself.

He'd smiled! Well, sort of. But she was going to call it that. He had looked at her with emotion. A friendly emotion at that! Her night had sucked for the most part, but that almost made it all seem worth it.


	2. Could've Been a Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was like a ghost. But he worked with ghosts and they usually left a far better trail. Even if that trail was merely an obituary. But this girl just didn't exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

Lin stared at his laptop's screen as if doing so would produce the answers he wanted. He felt like that's all he'd done for the past three months. Three long, torturous months. Most of which had been spent chasing dead ends.

He supposed it wasn't all bad. The staff at the hotel were mostly decent. Or at least the one staff member that appeared to be assigned to him was nice. She was petite and very young. Or maybe she was just almost childlike, as she did a great deal of jobs that a child shouldn't do.

She was very friendly. She smiled at everyone. She always helped anyone who needed it - whether that be a co-worker or a guest. And she was always, always working. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. She served him breakfast in the morning. She waved to him in the afternoon as he left to follow another stale breadcrumb. She greeted him enthusiastically from the check-in desk when he returned late at night. And apparently she occasionally tended the bar.

Something wasn't quite right there. Even if she wasn't as young as she looked, it still wasn't proper for a young woman to be working that much. It wasn't good for anyone to be working that much. But especially so for someone as small and delicate as her.

Not that he noticed how delicate she was. He definitely didn't notice how her eyes lit up when she was truly happy. Or how serious her little face would get when she was thinking hard about something. Because that would mean she was becoming a distraction. And he couldn't afford any distractions.

He needed to focus on his mission. He couldn't waste time worrying about whether or not she took the nurse's advice. He'd already messed up the day's timeline by staying at the bar until closing. Just to make sure that she made it out if her shift unscathed. Which caused him to oversleep and miss breakfast, so he didn't see if she came to work.

But surely she didn't. She'd looked dead on her feet last night. Even if she did come in, surely one of her bosses would send her home. Right?

He had a sinking feeling as a few of his shiki left him and shot out into the hall. They'd taken a liking to this girl and would go to her whenever she was near. They liked to give him status updates (as if that wasn't distracting, at all). Today's update was not speaking any comfort to him: low oxygen levels, irregular heartbeat, low grade fever.

He expected the knock on the door before it came. He quickly opened it to find a large cart full of cleaning supplies and towels. At the back of the cart, the young lady in question stood. Or rather, she leaned, using the very mobile cart to keep her upright. And nearly pushed it into him.

She realized her mistake and tried to quickly rectify the situation. She managed to stagger backwards just enough to keep it from hitting him. Her eyes were glossy as she blinked at him. And yet, she still smiled.

"Hi, I'm here to clean," her words were surprisingly coherent. "If now's not a good time, I'll come back later."

Knowing her, later only meant in a few hours, when he usually left his room. Which, normally he was fine with. It was the staff's job to keep everything clean and in order. And it had been a week since they last sent her to clean his room (they stopped sending anyone else after the first week). But today was not a good day. Not when she looked like death warmed over.

But who knows what else she'd get into if he sent her off. At least if she was cleaning in here, he could monitor her and maybe call the nurse if she started looking any worse. Wordlessly, he stepped back from the door and granted her entrance. He was rewarded with another smile, one that seemed tighter than her normal.

He left her to her usual task. He pretended he didn't notice her longing stare at his fresh pot of coffee. And attempted not to chuckle at her Chinese mutterings about how unprofessional it would be to ask for a cup. He was sorely tempted to offer her one. But he didn't.

Instead, he went back to his laptop and continued his search. He had overheard some of the conversation at the bar last night. His main task for the day was trying to find the article that Miss Shibuya had mentioned. He hadn't discovered it during the countless other articles he'd read on Taniyama. But maybe there would be something else in it to point him in the right direction.

If the article even existed. He had used several different key words, but even after browsing a multitude of search pages, he couldn't find anything like it. Was it possible she made it up? But why?

She had seemed particularly unnerved when the topic came up last night. His shiki were concerned about her as her anxiety levels had risen rather quickly. But he figured that was due to her fatigue. Lack of sleep could really mess up your emotional health.

But what if that wasn't the reason? Well, the main one, anyways. Maybe, she knew something. Maybe she knew the reason why it was so hard to find anything on the former rock star's daughter. Perhaps, she knew her personally.

She might even be her, for all he knew. The last image he'd seen of Mai Taniyama, she was only twelve. She had long hair and heavy makeup on for the role she was portraying onstage. The last role she ever did for the public. That was almost five years ago.

Mai Shibuya had short hair. She never wore makeup. She spoke fluent Chinese. And her appearance made her seem somewhere near sixteen to eighteen years of age. However, her job load and her work ethic were at odds with this. But it could make sense that she worked under the table to sustain herself as she had no living relatives (that gave a care, anyways). Her overall maturity could be a side effect of her being forced into independence at a young age.

But if they really were one in the same, why was she working so hard to disappear? Was she hiding from the music industry? Was she evading foster care (admittedly, he was clueless when it came to the Japanese foster system)? Were loan sharks after her? Was she avoiding her father?

Having met Ikuto Taniyama, that last one seemed pretty plausible. If his father was anything like that, he would've changed his name, too. He'd even move out of the country if he was able. But luckily, his father was a good man. So, the only reason he left home was to head an impossible search for a girl who might possibly be twenty feet away, cleaning his bathroom.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to do a little research on her. It wasn't like his current search was going anywhere.

Five search pages and many, many 'Mai Shibuya's later, Lin wasn't any smarter. The name was fairly common. But everyone he'd found was too young or too old or too dead. And none of them lived in the area. There weren't even school records for someone around her age.

If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was like a ghost. But he worked with ghosts and they usually left a far better trail. Even if that trail was merely an obituary. But this girl just didn't exist.

As he clicked at the sixth page, his shiki called out to him. Their mysterious maid was unconscious. Exiting his page and cursing himself for not checking on her, he rushed to the bathroom. He found her with her head on the tub's edge. Her gloved hands dangled over it, with a sponge in one and a bottle of cleaner in the other. Her legs bent beneath her and her back was twisted in a way that couldn't be comfortable.

Removing her cleaning tools and her gloves, he checked for her pulse. His shiki had told him that it was fine, but he wanted to feel it for himself. Thankfully, it was steady. Her exhaustion must've been too much for her and she simply fell asleep. Still, the bathroom floor was no place to take a nap. Lin scooped her into his arms. Her thin frame felt so frail as he carried her effortlessly to the bed. After taking off her shoes, he made sure she was comfortable under the blankets.

All the while, she never stirred. The only movement she made was the involuntary rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. That and her heartbeat were the only signs of life in her bones. Something about it unnerved him, but he didn't know why. It was almost as if her slumber wasn't entirely natural. His shiki hovered over her in an agitated manner and ignored any request for information. He'd have to be content with the fact that her vitals were all okay (not good, but passable).

He'd decided to finish cleaning the bathroom while she rested. She shouldn't have been doing the task in the first place - he surely wasn't about to let her go back to it when she woke up. He had half a mind to call up the management and reprimand them for letting her work in such a state. But he didn't know what would happen to her if he did so. He didn't want to be the reason they fired her. Regardless of whoever her true identity was, she seemed to desperately need this job. If she wasn't Taniyama (a speculation that seemed closer to the truth the more he thought on it), then when he finally did find the real one, he'd leave Shibuya behind. The guilt would eat at him if he left her here jobless. Japanese or not, no one deserved that.

Fifteen minutes later, the bathroom was spotless and the towels were all changed out. The young girl was still motionless as he sat back down at the desk. Another fifteen minutes passed in silence.

Then, the girl let out a strangled sound. It was almost like a scream that couldn't quite reach the surface. It got stuck in her throat as she sat up. Her hands went to her neck. Her unfocused eyes were wide as saucers. Her breaths were shallow as she struggled to catch them. Tears now streamed down her face. Her hands fell to her lap, wringing the blanket in panic.

"He killed me," she choked out. Her horror stricken words didn't appear to be meant for anyone. Lin saw a flash of realization cross over her face as she looked down. "Just a dream. Wasn't me."

Lin was paralyzed in his chair. He held his breath, not wanting to scare her while she was already in such a delicate state. His shiki surrounded her, nudging her gently in an attempt to get her to lay back down. And he could only stare as she looked right at them. He could feel the soft whispers they caressed her with. He watched as she nodded along, allowing herself to sink back down into the soft mattress. He could see her tiny body still trembling for a moment longer. Until, finally, she slipped into a more natural sleep.

Cautiously, Lin crept over to her. He readjusted the blankets that had fallen off of her during the ordeal. This time, she stirred. She rolled over so she was facing him and curled up with his pillow. Her soft brown locks fell over her closed eyes. Instinctively, he reached out and brushed them back.

There was something about this girl. She was like a magnet, drawing him in. He wanted to help her. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to know more. He needed to know more. Whether she was the girl he was looking for or not, he couldn't leave her alone anymore.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mai opened her eyes to find a small, glowing orb hovering in front of her face. She blinked a few times, but the orb didn't disappear. Slowly, she started to take in her surroundings. The soft mattress beneath her wasn't anything like the tatami mat she usually slept on. And it was far too comfortable to be one of the beds in the nurse's office.

That was where she had planned on taking a nap when she finished her mandatory clean of Lin's room (it's not like Ayako was ever there, so there would be no one to reprimand her for coming in to work). She couldn't take the whole day off as no other maid wanted this task. But her bosses had compromised and said she could go home after she did this one thing. But problem is, she didn't remember doing it.

She remembered making it up to room 403. She knocked on the door. She almost hit him with her cart. He let her in (or maybe he was just getting out of the cart's path). She thought she had started cleaning the bathroom, but that was a little blurry. That could only mean. . .

She shot up. She did it a little too quickly as the world started spinning. More orbs came into view, but Mai wasn't sure if they were new or just the same one from earlier. It was difficult to tell when everything was a blur. With a groan, she fell back into the fluffy pillows and closed her eyes.

Mai was almost afraid to sit up again. And not because it made her dizzy the last time. No, she was more worried about the embarrassment that was sure to follow. Only she could make such a blunder as napping in a guest's bed. And of course the guest just had to be none other than Lin, her beautiful, mystery man. Why couldn't the bed just swallow her whole? It's not like anyone would notice her missing. How long had she been here, anyway?

It was pretty quiet, maybe he'd left the room. If that were the case, she could just sneak out and avoid any confrontation (or at least save herself from a lifetime of embarrassment). If only she could remember how she got in the bed. If she was lucky, there was a possibility that he'd left the room before she shamelessly crawled into it.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again. Now, three glowing orbs stared back at her, studying her. They didn't seem malicious, just strange. One of them brushed against her cheek, as if to say everything was okay. It was soft and warm, she couldn't help but reach up and touch it. She smiled as it leaned into her fingers. Whatever they were, at least they were nice.

Sighing, she stopped petting the orb and sat up. This time, she did it carefully. Now that the world was standing still, she could observe a bit better. The lights were all off. The curtains that covered the balcony doors were closed. The only sources of light were the orbs, the open laptop sitting on the desk, and the glowing numbers on the alarm clock. The numbers that revealed just how late it really was: six in the evening.

She recalled that she had gotten to work around ten this morning. It had taken her a good half hour to grab a cart and fresh linens and make her way up to the room. If she had cleaned at least another half hour before crashing, that put her at maybe seven hours of sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she slept that much. She couldn't remember the last time she had as little as four hours of uninterrupted sleep. Why did it have to be in someone else's bed? Someone who had every right to get her fired for such negligence.

Her chances of him not seeing her seemed almost impossible now. Of course, she kind of knew they weren't great to begin with. Her luck had never been good. All she could do now was hope that he'd take pity on her and not tell her bosses. Maybe she could bribe him. Would a basket of chocolates work? A little gift for the inconvenience. The inconvenience that was her. Seriously, why did they let her be the primary employee for his needs? They should've known she'd mess it up sooner or later. Unless that was their plan all along. Maybe they wanted her to mess up so they could do away with her. But no, her bosses liked her. They probably just had faith in her capabilities. Very misplaced faith.

Another groan escaped her lips as she threw the blankets aside. She swung her legs over. There, both her shoes were sat neatly beside the bed. Far neater than she ever would've placed them. Did he carry her to bed? She could feel the heat creeping up her neck. Her entire face felt like it was burning. It was a fire fueled by all her shame. Did she snore in his ear? Did she drool on his shoulder? Did she say anything weird while she slept?

She should've stayed home.

She was momentarily distracted from her mortification as the glowing orbs started to buzz around her. They seemed agitated as one got in her face. The other two kept bumping into her shoulders, as if they were trying to push her back down. Two more had flown in from somewhere and began to assist the others. Mai could feel their concern.

-"I'm okay,"- she tried to assure them. She used Chinese instinctively, oddly enough. It might've been her first language, but she was more accustomed to speaking her second tongue.

-"Lay down,"- one of the orbs spoke. His voice was unlike any she'd ever heard. It sounded ancient and not quite human. The orb in question had left his friends to float in front of her. His color, she noted, was tinted with yellow. His form had become almost sharp, like he was irritated. -"You are unwell."-

Were they the reason she'd slept so long? If that were the case, she wondered if she could take them home with her. Why were they here anyways? What were they?

-"What are you?"- she asked cautiously, her curiosity overriding her need to push back.

-"We are spirits tied to our Master,"- the yellow orb spoke again.

-"Your Master?"- Mai mused aloud. Her musings fell short when an orb circled her neck. The sudden warmth tickled her skin, causing her to giggle. The red tinted orb fell in line beside the yellow one, looking satisfied with itself.

"They seem to like you," a voice came from behind her, much closer than she expected. She hadn't heard him come in from the balcony.

Slowly, she turned around. Her handsome stranger was across the bed, standing at the other edge. His eye held a glimmer of, dare she say, amusement. Her cheeks flushed again as she remember where she was and what she'd done. "I'm so sorry, sir. I- I . . ."

"Are you feeling better?"

"I-, y-yes, sir,"

"Good," then he gave her a smile. A real smile and not one she'd just imagined. It was soft and genuine. And it left her speechless. All she could do was gape at him and nod her head.

A few of the spirit orbs left her to go to his side. Looking closely she could see their colors were orange, green, and blue. She could hear them whispering to him, but couldn't make out what they were saying. The red spirit rested on her shoulder. The yellow one still stood guard, watching her every move.

"Your fever seems to have improved," Lin commented, moving closer as he spoke. He stopped when he was standing only four feet in front of her.

Her hands flew up to her forehead, checking for a fever (mostly attempting to block her view from his gaze). "It's amazing what a little sleep can fix," she chuckled sheepishly.

"Any particular reason you haven't been sleeping?"

His warm hands pulled hers away from her face. His beautiful grey eye peered at her, waiting for a response. She'd put several hours in at work over the past few months in an attempt to avoid going home. So, she could imagine what he probably thought she'd say. He'd expect her to say something about how the establishment was overworking her or something. But truthfully, she volunteered for most of the hours.

"I don't know. Nightmares, insomnia," she shrugged. She ignored how his eye darkened and how the orbs became agitated again. "But I'm feeling much better now. Thank you for letting me stay here. And for not calling my bosses when I passed out while on the job."

"Will you be in any trouble for going missing for so long?"

"No, sir. This was my only task for the day," she assured him, not missing the look of relief that passed over his face. "The only trouble I'll be in is if Ayako catches me while I return the cart to the maids' station."

"Maybe it'll be a good reminder to listen to the nurse's advice," he smiled again, definitely amused now. She was momentarily dazzled. Until she realized that her predicament was the cause of his amusement.

She pouted. It wasn't so funny when you were on the other side of the fiery red-head's wrath. Maybe she should sic her on him. He didn't seem to like it when Ayako's attention was on him. Granted, it was a short lived moment that ended as soon as he shut her down. She mostly ignored him ever since.

"It really isn't healthy to push your body to the point of unconsciousness," his seriousness stopped her half-hearted plans of his demise.

Instead, images of her mother's lifeless body filled her head. The cancer didn't kill her; the chemo didn't kill her. But working non-stop while dealing with them both did. Hearing those words really brought home how close she'd been to following her mother's fate. She'd been working so that her mother would be proud when she looked down at her. And she almost threw it all away by working too hard. What would she think of her now?

A warm hand on her cheek brought her back to the present. Long, pale fingers wiped away at tears she hadn't realized were falling. He was kneeling in front of her now, looking up at her in concern. This poor stranger. He probably didn't know he was dealing with such a headcase when he let her into his bed (that sounded so wrong). He probably couldn't wait until she left his room. He was quite the gentleman, patiently waiting. What was she still doing there?

"Yes, I'll - I'll be more careful," she said suddenly. "I'll work on getting more sleep and not overworking myself."

"Mm, and you might want to tell someone about the nightmares. It would probably help if you talk about them,"

"Maybe," her nightmares were a burden she didn't want to place on anyone. They usually involved someone dying or getting hurt in gruesome ways. The one she'd been having lately was especially horrible. Four young women, including herself, were held hostage by an evil man called Vlad. She couldn't fathom trying to describe what he did to them. And it always ended when he'd strangle her for trying to escape. That's what she saw every single time she closed her eyes. For the past four days. "I, um, I should really get going. I'm sorry, again, for troubling you."

"It's fine, Miss Shibuya," he assured politely as he slowly backed away from her.

"Still, sir," her voice strained as she bent to lace her shoes. "if there's anything I can do to repay you, please let me know."

With that, she thanked him again and went on her way. Her face was crimson red the whole journey down to the maids' station. The further she went, the more embarrassing it became. She couldn't believe what just happened. She was definitely going to have to start taking better care of herself, even if only to avoid these sort of situations.

It didn't help her to forget the whole thing when two of those spirit orbs followed her. The red one had nestled itself between her shirt and her neck. The yellow one just floated behind her. She could feel his disappointment.

-"I'm fine,"- she stressed. A few of her coworkers gave her funny looks, but most of them were used to her talking to herself in another language. So, talking orbs probably wouldn't phase them.

-"You should return to Master,"- Mr. Yellow argued. -"He can help you to better understand and control your visions."-

-"My vision is just fine, thanks,"- There was no way she was going back up there unless it was for work related purposes. -"And I highly doubt your Master wants me bothering him again."-

She managed to make it all the way to the vacant maids' station without running into a certain nurse. The tricky part was going to be leaving the hotel. It shouldn't be too hard if she used the main entrance. Or pretty much any entrance that wasn't connected to the restaurant and bar. Of course, it would probably help if they stopped talking. The discourse didn't make it easy for a sneaky exit.

-"You still believe leaving is the best course of action?"-

-"Yes, I still have to go home. Where I live,"-

-"Very well,"- Except it wasn't well, because the weight of his disappointment increased tenfold. -"Take Yi with you."-

-"Yi?"-

-"Yes, the spirit attached to you is called Yi,"-

-"Oh. What are you called?"-

-"My name is Jun,"-

She supposed it made sense that they had names. They probably all had different personalities, too. But why was she just seeing them now? Could everyone else see them? Is that why no one liked to serve Lin?

-"It's a pleasure to meet you both. Why are we just meeting now?"-

-"Your abilities appear to have grown quite rapidly since the time we arrived,"-

-"Abilities?"- she didn't have any abilities. But then again, she was talking to a glowing orb. -"Can people not normally see you?"-

-"No, usually only Master can see us, unless we choose to reveal ourselves. There are, however, some people powerful enough to sense us,"-

Then, why was she able to see them? Was it because they'd revealed themselves to her? But why would they do that? Her head hurt as she tried to wrap her brain around it. This was too much new information on top of an already stressful day. Plus, as Jun seemed keen on pointing out, she still hadn't fully recovered. For once, all she wanted to do was go home.

-"Won't your Master worry if I take Yi with me?"- The spirit in question vibrated in response. She grew warmer, sending waves of comfort to Mai.

-"He'll worry more if you don't,"- Jun responded cryptically. Then, he disappeared altogether, leaving Mai and Yi alone in the maids' station.

-"Okay, guess it's time to go,"- Mai spoke to herself, as much as to her silent spirit companion. -"Here's hoping we don't get caught."-

She made her way to the lobby silently. She could've used a back entrance, but most of those led to the parking garage. She liked to avoid that area if she could. Something about it always gave her the creeps. It was probably safe, but every time she went through the parking garage she felt like someone was watching her. It didn't help that when she first started working, one of the senior maids told her the story of a young stewardess that was murdered and thrown in the back of a car. In that very parking garage. It could've very well been a rumor, but she wasn't taking that chance.

So, to the lobby she went. She passed through the hallways victoriously, without a single sighting of her favorite red-head. She stopped before exiting the the last hallway. Remaining partially hidden, she peered around to see if the coast was clear. The lobby was clear, but the restaurant was connected to it. It was separated by a wall with windows running the whole length of it. Through the windows, she could see Ayako talking rather irately with a familiar monk. Her need to succeed increased with this new piece of information.

She was short enough that if she did a crab walk below the windows, she wouldn't be seen. She just had to be careful not to get hit with the door that was always opening and closing. Surging with confidence, she started her awkward descent towards the exit. She had passed the door obstacle and was nearing the finish line. Then, she made the mistake of looking up. The sight before her compelled her to stand.

There, up on the wall adjacent to the restaurant, was a bulletin board. It held the usual flyers for pot lucks and band gigs. Various business cards added to the collage, largely ignored and forgotten. But today, four new posters joined the cluster. From three of them, three familiar faces smiled at her. All of them were barely twenty, full of life, and looking forward to the future. The look on their beaming faces were a far cry from the terror that'd been ingrained into her brain. Their last seen date was four days ago.

"Yo, woman, she's right here. I told you she'd be at work,"


	3. If You Want to Get Out Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mai would be lying if she said she wasn't envious. She always has been a little bit. When Masako walked into a room, she was looked up to and her opinion was sought after. Mai doubted she'd ever be half as talented or respected as her.  
> So, here they were. One of them was a successful medium, the other was falling asleep in guests' bathrooms. The divide between them was immeasurably large, though the physical distance was merely a few feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

The day felt like it would never end - and it wasn't even nine in the morning. Lin was starting to wish (and not for the first time) that he hadn't taken Madoka's call yesterday. He would've saved himself from a lot of unnecessary grief. But no, he'd answered it like the dutiful co-worker that he was. And now he was in the middle of a stranger's living room, stuck guarding a teenage medium he barely knew.

He'd met Masako Hara only once before, during his longstanding search. The medium had her own television program and at the beginning of its run, Mai Taniyama performed the show's title song. The recording had taken place only a few months before she drew away from society. He had hoped that, since the two were close in age, they might've formed a friendship of some sort. Unfortunately, Ms. Hara was as lost as he was on the matter. They had spent some time together, but they apparently weren't close enough for Taniyama to disclose much personal information or to keep in touch. Her disappearance was a sore spot for Ms. Hara.

Lin had no intention of contacting her again, as there was no information she could give. But she was still an important acquaintance of the Davis family. So, when she agreed to investigate alongside people she'd never met (possible unsavory characters only after her power or money), he'd been volunteered to act as a buffer in case the situation became dangerous. But everything seemed fine at the moment.

The owner of the house was an elderly woman. She claimed to have witnessed several objects flying across the room and breaking, almost as if they were thrown. She also claimed that her young adult granddaughter had gotten trapped in a bedroom closet on more than one occasion, despite the door having no lock. It was a case that Oliver and Eugene would've loved to investigate. But Lin felt like his time could be better used. He could've been searching for new leads on the Taniyama case. Or he could've been checking up on Ms. Shibuya. Or basically doing anything that wasn't watching a handful of Japanese strangers try their hand at hunting ghosts.

So far, Ms. Hara seemed safe from harm. Currently, the only other arrivals were the client and a young foreigner. His blonde hair and odd dialect was out of place, but he seemed friendly enough. He was quite young, Lin guessed him to be no more than fifteen. He wore khaki slacks and a knit sweater, appearing professional enough. From his outward appearance, Lin couldn't figure out what place he'd take on the team of spiritualists. But Lin had worked with Gene and Oliver long enough to know that appearances were deceiving.

There were others that were expected to arrive at any moment. The client, Mrs. Ikeda, hadn't even met them herself. Her granddaughter had a co-worker who had referred them to her. The co-worker had also recommended the foreigner. Mrs. Ikeda appeared to blindly trust this co-worker. Or maybe she was desperate. She hadn't expected Ms. Hara to take up the case, as she had mentioned a few times already.

"If the others do not get here in the next few minutes, I think we should start without them," Someone was as eager as he was to get this over with.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon, Hara-san," the foreigner argued rather meekly. Lin couldn't tell if that was simply his nature or if he was getting worried.

It was at this moment there was a knock on the door. The foreigner stood up, relief evident on his face. He offered to let them in so Ikeda didn't have to trouble herself. He left the three of them. Hara remained silent and Lin was starting to wonder if he had to protect the newcomers from her.

Whoever they were, they had his shiki on edge. They were eager to meet the new people, but had to stay close at the request of their master. It wasn't until one of them spoke that he realized why that was.

"John!" the warm voice called out loudly. "It's been far too long."

Lin's heart leapt at the sound, though he couldn't figure out why. Maybe his shiki were influencing him. Or maybe, if he was honest with himself, he was just happy to see her. He hadn't expected to see her again for a few days. While working here, he'd be leaving before breakfast and returning late. She should've (hopefully) gone home long before he'd arrive.

But here she was, chatting happily with the young foreigner (whose name was apparently John). By their voices, he could tell they were getting closer. Soon enough, they were standing at the entryway. Two others trailed behind, the hotel nurse and the rock star that Shibuya was close to. Both of them wore traditional clothes.

Lin was so elated that he very nearly missed the change in his temporary charge. But he still managed to catch her eyes widen before she could conceal it. The sleeve of her kimono automatically flew up to cover the rest of her face. And the case finally seemed interesting.

"Shibuya-san, I'm glad you could make it," Mrs. Ikeda stood up to greet her.

Shibuya smiled warmly, rushing to the woman and sitting back down with her. "I wasn't sure I'd be able to, but they let me take the next couple days off. So, I can stay and watch a little bit."

"I'm so grateful to you for your help," the elderly woman smiled back. "This is Masako Hara. She's also agreed to help me with this."

Shibuya's eyes met Lin's for a brief second before sliding over to Hara. He watched as her smile nearly faltered and the color drained from her face. On the other side, Hara appeared unfazed. If he hadn't been paying attention earlier, he would've believed it.

"Have we met somewhere before, Shibuya-san?" Hara blinked innocently as Shibuya stared back like a beautiful doe in the headlights.

"Yes," Shibuya said after a moment of hesitation. She didn't want to admit it, but she couldn't bring herself to lie either. "I think we have."

"I see," was Hara's curt response.

Shibuya's color hadn't returned, but she found enough confidence to change the subject, "Ah, and these are my friends. This is Houshou Takigawa, the monk."

"Yo," the man with the ponytail saluted to the others.

"This is Ayako Matsuzaki, the shinto priestess,"

"I look forward to working with you all," the nurse's words did not match her tone. This became more obvious when she cut eyes at the monk who was silently mocking her from behind.

"And you've all met Father Brown, the exorcist,"

The young blonde beamed at Shibuya, oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere. Everyone else could only stare at the baby-face priest. The new information just didn't fit. He was far too young to be such a person.

"How old are you, Brown-san?" Matsuzaki was naturally the first to ask.

The Father responded in good nature, smiling despite the bold question. "I'm twenty-one."

He was still rather young, but not nearly as young as he appeared. Everyone was still gauging him, but he kept smiling as he took a seat next to Shibuya. Lin couldn't help but wonder if she was ignorant to what exactly her friend was or if she just didn't care. Neither one would've surprised him at this point.

The conversation turned to the case at hand. Lin silently congratulated himself on not catching anyone's attention and needing to introduce himself. He was largely forgotten by most, except for Shibuya. Her eyes kept wandering over to him, her face turning bright red every time she was caught. She was still self-conscious about yesterday's events, it seemed.

He could feel his mouth lifting up a little every time their eyes met. For whatever reason, this didn't put her at ease, as he had hoped. It seemed to have the opposite effect. Her face would get even more red. She still smiled at him, but then she'd try even harder to avoid looking at him. It was a little cute.

He did feel bad for her, though. Between his apparently nerve-wracking presence and Hara's subtle call out, her anxiety levels were rising. Poor Yi was having a time trying to calm her down. Lin allowed a couple shiki to go and assist her. He made Jun stay, however, because the spirit would just lecture her and be of no help.

The day turned out to be less of a waste than he originally thought. Although, he had abhorred having to play bodyguard to the famous medium, she was actually helpful. Thanks to her, he was now at least eighty percent sure that Shibuya was indeed Taniyama. To be one hundred percent sure, he'd have to send out the samples of hair she'd left on his pillow. He'd felt like a creep when he collected them and hadn't the heart to actually get them tested. But it was either that or ask her directly. And judging by the way she was reacting now, she wasn't ready for that. He wasn't sure he was ready for that.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mai thought that yesterday was a bad day. She didn't know that today was going to top it. It had started out nice enough. Thanks to her little nap and her new spirit friend, she was well rested by morning. She woke up feeling energized. And that feeling stayed all the way through meeting up with Bou-san and Ayako (even through their little spats). It was coursing through her veins as she greeted John and followed him into Mrs. Ikeda's home. But when Mrs. Ikeda introduced her other guest, that feeling dissipated.

Mai hadn't seen Masako in years. In person anyways. She'd caught glimpses of her on the TV every now and then and knew from various sources that she was doing well. Or her business was, at least. Mai didn't believe a word about her own well being unless it came from the person in question. And here she was, in the flesh. Looking as prim and proper and confident as she always had.

Mai would be lying if she said she wasn't envious. She always has been a little bit. When Masako walked into a room, she was looked up to and her opinion was sought after. Mai doubted she'd ever be half as talented or respected as her.

She even had Lin accompanying her. Mai was more than a little curious as to how they knew each other. Was he a fan? A colleague? Or something more? Mai suddenly felt plain sitting across from them. Here she was, just a simple, talent-less runaway.

Masako must've hated her. They used to be pretty close, until she went and cut off all contact. Masako had once told her that she felt Mai was the only one who understood her. It wasn't very understanding of her to ghost her best friend. She became one of the few that Mai had left behind in her effort to fall off the face of the earth. Mai had been pretty messed up then, but that wasn't a good excuse. She should've tried harder to reach out. By the time she felt like she could do so, it was too late.

So, here they were. One of them was a successful medium, the other was falling asleep in guests' bathrooms. The divide between them was immeasurably large, though the physical distance was merely a few feet. Mai was happy they were splitting up into teams. She would go with her usual partner, Bou-san (although she would've enjoyed catching up with John, there was no way she was going to let Ayako and Bou-san team up again). And Masako and Lin would go their own way.

Or so she thought until the medium herself spoke up, "Shibuya-san, if you would be so kind, please accompany me on a walk-through of the house."

Bou-san moved forward to protest, but Mai shot him a warning look. He backed down, but his eyes narrowed. As he was the one to introduce her to the paranormal world, he'd taken it as his responsibility to protect her from all things supernatural (and otherwise). He didn't trust Masako would be sufficient protection. He was already wary of her from her introduction.

"Sure thing," it wasn't like she could say no, even though she desperately wanted to. She was grateful to Masako for not exposing her in front of everyone. The last thing she wanted to do was make her angry. Besides, maybe some closure would be good for the both of them.

"I'd like to visit the upstairs bedroom first," Mai nodded, letting her lead the way. Masako was the professional, Mai was just the observer. As they started to leave, Lin began to follow. But Masako stopped him, "I would prefer to walk with Shibuya-san alone."

Lin's eye darkened, but he remained silent. He merely gave her a curt nod. Mai noted, however, that his spirit orbs continued to follow them. As they left, Mai glanced back to see Bou-san inviting the quiet man to join him. Lin met her gaze with a strange look in his eye before agreeing.

The walk to the bedroom was largely silent. Their footsteps seemed like thunder to Mai's ears. Every creak of the floorboards and every rustle of fabric had her on edge. Yi and the orange orb stayed close to her. The orange spirit whispered encourage words while Yi vibrated comfortingly. Jun and the green orb went ahead of them. The blue one had stayed with Lin.

Upon entering the bedroom, Mai immediately felt suffocated. Even with the door open, it felt like she was trapped with no way to escape. Her lungs burned for more air, despite there being plenty. She looked to Masako to see if she felt the same sensation. The look of discomfort on the medium's face told her she did. It didn't comfort her like she thought it would.

"You have people looking for you,"

Mai blinked. The statement was far from what she was expecting. Unless those people were a spirit hiding in the closet. "Um, what?"

"I presume you must have some reason for going into hiding. You even went so far as to change your name. I simply thought I'd warn you that there are people who are searching for you. They came to me two months ago to ask if I had any clue as to where you were," Masako's eyes never met hers. She had her face mostly concealed by the sleeve of her kimono.

"I'm sorry," Mai said honestly, her voice barely above a whisper. The weight of her friend's feelings distracted her from the burning in her chest. "I never mean to hurt you."

"No, I'm sorry," Masako finally turned to look at her, eyes wet with unshed tears. "I was angry. For the longest time, I wanted to bump into you just to ignore you like you had me. Then, that man who came looking for you eventually told me what happened to your mother. It made sense why you'd disappeared."

"Still, I shouldn't have left like I did. I'm sorry," Masako nodded, silently accepting her apology. One weight lifted from Mai's shoulders. Just for another to take its place. "And thank you for the warning. Do you know who this man is?"

Could her father be looking for her after all these years? How did he know what happened to her mother? It had been over a decade since she saw him. Since he walked out of their life. Did she want him to know where she was? Did she want to see him again?

"The man himself was of little consequence. The people he works for sent him to find you. They're good people. I've had the privilege of working with them once,"

So, it probably wasn't her father. Then again, a lot of people thought her father was a good man because they didn't know him. "Do you know what they would want with me?"

"I'm curious as to that, myself. Do you have some sort of hidden talents you've revealed accidentally?" Masako scrutinized her, looking for something that wasn't there.

"Nope, I'm still just ordinary Mai," she shrugged. "But are we done here, yet? This place is unusually stuffy."

"You can sense that?"

"Uh, yeah," Mai was sure anyone would've noticed it.

"Hmm," Masako mused cryptically, moving towards the closet. The one that Mrs. Ikeda said her granddaughter had gotten trapped in. "Come here and tell me what you feel."

Reluctantly, Mai came to stand beside her. The open door didn't make the closet feel any more welcoming. For reasons beyond her understanding, Mai was washed in a variety of emotions, "I feel scared. Sad. I'm helpless. I'm - I'm angry."

The second the words left her mouth, Mai felt a shove. She and Masako lunged forward, tumbling into the closet. Mai caught a glimpse of the Lin's orbs shining brightly before the door slammed shut in her face. Darkness enveloped them. Mai felt Masako's frightened grip on her hand. Until she, too, slipped away. Then, there was nothing.


	4. Run For Your Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What are your intentions?" Hara's voice pulled him out of his musings. He turned away from Shibuya to meet her level stare.
> 
> "I don't understand the question," Lin was pretty sure he did, but he wanted her to confirm it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

Watching Takigawa turned out to be more interesting than Lin thought it would. It was his first time seeing a monk ward off spirits and this monk proved to be quite powerful. Whether or not his efforts were effective (or necessary) remained to be seen, but it was interesting nonetheless. Gene and Naru would be disappointed to know they missed it.

Lin still wished he could've missed it. He would've preferred to be upstairs with the girls. For more reasons than one. Mostly, he was concerned for their safety. They were in a haunted house with an unidentified spirit. A spirit who seemed to target young women. Specifically, young women who wandered into the very room they were headed. Lin's only source of comfort was that his shiki would inform him if something went wrong. And they could hold the evil spirit back long enough for the rescue to come.

But his other concern, he could do nothing about. Hara and Shibuya were likely to put their problems to rest. After doing so, Hara would inform Shibuya that Lin was looking for her. The other her. How would she react? Would she be disgusted? Would she run away again? The idea that she'd be out there, somewhere he didn't know, terrified him. And it wasn't just because he'd finally gotten so close to finding her.

"I'm really not comfortable with this," Takigawa said after they'd finished with the kitchen. "I don't like those two running off on their own."

Lin was in total agreement. "Does Shibuya-san have any way of protecting herself?"

"I've taught her a few chants and I think that old hag over there taught her the nine cuts," Takigawa must've been referring to Matsuzaki. "But she's never really had need of them, so I don't know how prepared she is. What about Hara-san?"

"Unless she can reason with the spirits, I don't know of any defense skill she possesses," Lin spoke honestly of what he knew - which wasn't much.

"Great," Takigawa's voice was heavily laced with sarcasm. "So, they're both up there like sitting ducks just so Hara can have a little girl chat."

Lin noticed that Shibuya wasn't mentioned as part of the problem. Despite the fact that she was the one who agreed. Takigawa was extremely protective of her. Lin had seen that much when he'd come to help her at the bar the other night. He'd watched her especially close after IKUTO was mentioned, as if he knew the truth.

"How long have you known Shibuya-san?" Lin was curious.

"I think it's been a couple of years now," Takigawa shrugged. "We met when the band was doing a gig at the hotel. Of course, she was working the bar that night."

His distaste for that was evident. If she was Taniyama, that put her at seventeen. She would've been around fifteen when they met. That was far too young to be working at such a station.

"She seems...youthful," Takigawa scoffed at his comment. "Does her family know?"

Takigawa scowled, "No. Not that they'd care if they did."

Lin pondered how to keep the conversation going. It was difficult as it wasn't usually his thing, but he was trying to get as much information as he could. That all came to a halt, however, when his shiki sent out a distress signal.

Lin ran without a thought. Takigawa yelled after him, before following along. Lin made it to the 'empty' bedroom first, but the monk wasn't too far behind. Lin found three of his shiki hovering around a closet door, unable to enter. He couldn't sense Yi. And by proxy, he couldn't sense Shibuya. He tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge.

"Someone, please, help us," Hara's voice could be heard, muffled by the door. "She's holding us in here and won't let us out."

Lin was about to tell his shiki to put an end to whoever held them hostage, but Takigawa motioned for him to step back. Lin let him take the lead, preferring that over exposing his own abilities. Though, he would if he needed to.

"Hang in there," Takigawa called out before beginning his chanting.

The shiki came to stand next to Lin, waiting for the evil spirit to be chased off. Lin continued to try and reach Yi. Though, his efforts proved to be fruitless. Hara could be heard speaking frantically to Shibuya, but he couldn't understand her over the chants. Shibuya's voice never reached him.

After a long moment, Takigawa ceased. Stepping forward, he reached for the doorknob. It turned easily in his grasp. He flung the door open, causing Hara to nearly fall into him. She held onto him in a rare moment of vulnerability. Her eyes were wet and wide with fear.

The shiki rushed past them and went straight to Shibuya. She had yet to exit and now he knew why. She was unconscious.

While Hara tried to explain that to Takigawa, Lin surged on through. He was informed that she was physically unharmed, but he still wanted to see for himself. He found her much as he had yesterday. Her body mostly motionless, not even stirring as he picked her up. The rise and fall of her chest was his only comfort.

"Her vitals all appear fine. It seems she is merely asleep," his words sounded more confident than he felt.

"Still, let's let Ayako get a look at her," Takigawa suggested, looking as concerned as Lin felt. He had one arm around the medium's shoulders, leading her out of the room.

Lin followed with Shibuya in his arms. Her head rested on his neck, her breath warmed his skin. He was thankful she wasn't feverish this time. At least he could check one thing off his list of worries. But her lack of response was still concerning. As was the fact that Yi had just disappeared. She'd taken it as her duty to protect Shibuya. It wasn't like her to abandon her post - especially at such a dire time.

"Oh my," Father Brown exclaimed in English. He and Matsuzaki met them at the bottom of the staircase. "Are the girls okay?"

Lin let Takigawa and Hara explain the situation as he carried Shibuya to the couch. The second he laid her down, Matsuzaki pushed him aside. He stayed close, though. He watched as she checked for vitals and shone a light in Shibuya's eyes. A frown etched on the nurse's face.

"She didn't hit her head on anything?"

"No, she landed on my shoulder when she fainted,"

"I see. Well, I can't find anything wrong. She probably hasn't fully recovered and passed out from overworking herself," Matsuzaki's eyes narrowed as they met Lin's. She must've heard about yesterday. "Did she seem weak or anything when you guys were walking?"

"No, she appeared quite strong," Hara's usual stoic expression faltered.

"You said she wasn't fully recovered. Is she ill?" Brown looked down at the slumbering girl, his bright blue eyes filled with concern.

"She overworked herself again," Takigawa sighed.

"We'll keep an eye on her. When she wakes up, she's not to leave this couch," the nurse ordered.

"She really did seem fine up until the spirits appeared," Hara reminded.

"Do you get a good read on them?" Takigawa got down to business.

"There are two spirits, a mother and a daughter. The daughter is scared. She's trapped here by the mother,"

"Is the mother the one that locked you in the closet?" Brown asked. His eyes attention was on Hara, but his eyes kept flickering to Shibuya. Everyone's eyes kept flickering to Shibuya.

"Yes, I believe so," Hara nodded. "She was very angry. Mai felt it, too."

"Do you sense them now?" Takigawa had a serious expression.

"I can still sense the daughter. But the mother's presence is very faint, at the moment,"

"Alright, I think our focus should be on the upstairs bedroom. That seems to be where most of the activity has been," Takigawa turned to Matsuzaki and Brown with a grin. "Who wants to do the honors of going first?"

It was decided that Matsuzaki would make the first attempt. The other two would wait out in the hall for their turn. Lin and Hara would stay downstairs with Shibuya. With strict instructions not to let her move. A very pointed look was directed at Lin during this order.

Lin wasn't sure why he was getting the brunt of her displeasure. He hadn't caused the situation. Sure, it might not have been entirely proper to let the young woman stay in his room, alone with him. But her health was top priority. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.

He really hadn't thought about it at the time. His only thoughts were about how to help her. It wasn't until Madoka called that he realized how it looked. She'd originally tried to do a video call, but he'd rejected it. She then proceeded to spam him with several texts about the audacity of such a deed. Then, she called him the usual way to make sure he understood the error of his ways.

He'd gone out on the balcony to avoid waking up Shibuya. After getting chewed out, he explained his reasons. But he purposely withheld his hypothesis on her identity. When Madoka was shocked speechless, it finally dawned on him that it was highly inappropriate. But by that time, the damage was already done. And when Shibuya awoke shortly after, he was far too concerned with her well being to worry about it.

"What are your intentions?" Hara's voice pulled him out of his musings. He turned away from Shibuya to meet her level stare.

"I don't understand the question," Lin was pretty sure he did, but he wanted her to confirm it.

"When you approached me earlier, you wanted my help to find that person. If you do find them, what do you intend to to do?" A lesser person would've withered under such a cold gaze. But Lin had plenty of experience, he had Oliver as a student after all. This doll-like glare was nothing in comparison.

"I'll take her to the Davis family," he answered honestly. The how wasn't necessary for the response. Thank goodness, too, as he still had yet to figure that out for himself.

"Why?" Her voice wavered slightly. "For what reason would they want her?"

Lin couldn't tell if her motives were pure or not. He knew that being sought out by the Davis family was a high honor for those involved with the paranormal society. On one hand, Taniyama was in an enviable position. But on the other, they were friends of some sort. It could be quite scary if a friend was taken away to a foreign country by someone who had no known connection to her. It was probably even more sketchy when you considered that she had no relatives who watched over her.

Still, their connection was not something he could divulge. "I'm afraid that I cannot answer that question currently."

Hara brought her sleeve up to cover her mouth, but Lin had already seen her jaw tighten up. "Then, I'm afraid that I cannot assist you any further."

Lin fought back a smirk. Whether she knew it or not, she'd already given him the assistance he needed. Instead, he gave a solemn nod and thanked her for hearing him out. Then, an uncomfortable silence fell. Lin actually preferred it over continuing the conversation. But he could've done without Hara fuming in her seat. Technically, she was still his charge, so he supposed he'd have to put up with it.

While he was ignoring her, he started trying to figure out how to explain this to Taniyama. He knew that his time was growing short. He'd have to tell her soon. Either after he sent out the DNA sample or after Hara outed him. He just hoped she would listen to what he'd have to say.

Suddenly, Yi popped back on his radar. At the same time, Shibuya stirred. Lin waited, watching as she gathered herself. She blinked slowly. Her soft brown eyes took their time taking in the surroundings. A small frown revealed her confusion. Carefully, she sat up. This motion caught the attention of Hara, who moved to sit at her feet. At this, Shibuya's eyes widened in surprise before frantically searching the room. She met Lin's gaze. And his heart warmed as she relaxed immediately.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Darkness enveloped her. Gravity seemed nonexistent as she floated in the vast nothingness. Slowly, the space was lit up with millions of glowing orbs. She knew right away what they were. They were spirits, much like Lin's. She must've wound up in some sort of spirit realm. But how? Was she dead?

She couldn't be dead. She still had so much she wanted to do. She still had to make her mother proud. She had to get back to her friends. Her friends! Masako was probably stuck in that stupid closet with her lifeless body. That poor girl had enough on her plate, she didn't need the emotional trauma of being trapped with a dead girl.

How did she die anyways? Did the evil spirit kill her? If the spirit had killed her, there should've been more pain. Right? She couldn't remember feeling any pain. She remembered feeling scared and suffocated, but she'd survived panic attacks that were far worse. So, that wasn't the likely culprit. What killed her?

-"...ai. Mai. Mai, come here,"- a soft, bell-like voice chimed at her. She looked around to find a beautiful woman. She wore a pink hanfu. Her dark, silky hair fell to her waist, with half of it held up with an ornate hair pin. Her dark brown eyes danced with familiar warmth.

-"Yi?"- The woman grinned, her hands reaching out to Mai. Mai took them with no hesitation. The spirit's presence instantly calmed her down. -"Yi, can you tell me where we are?"-

-"As you've already suspected, we're in the spirit realm. But don't worry, you're safe here. I'll protect you until we return,"- Yi beamed reassuringly.

-"We can return?"- If she could return, then she wasn't dead!

But Yi's smile suddenly fell. Her eyes cast down. -"Only after we complete the vision."-

-"The vision?"- Mai had a bad feeling about this.

Yi nodded solemnly. -"I cannot stop it. I can only guide you and give you comfort."-

Mai smiled at the kind spirit. She was more than happy to know she wasn't alone in this. Whatever this was. -"Then please, lead the way."-

Yi gave a small smile, reluctant to continue. After a moment, the area around them started to change. Light filled the darkness and a familiar architecture took its shape. Mai found herself standing in the same living room she'd been in not even an hour ago. The furniture was older and the walls were a different color, but it was the exact same layout.

A young woman she'd never met sat on the couch. Her head was low, her eyes unfocused. She slumped in her seat, defeated. An older woman stood in front of her. She had one hand on her hip, the other was jabbing at the young woman. She was yelling, but Mai couldn't hear her. Then, the young woman's mouth moved. The older woman must've asked her to repeat what she said, because she did. The second time, her eyes flashed and her jaw clenched. Mai really wished she could hear them.

Suddenly, the older woman attacked the younger. But the younger managed to push her off. She ran, but the older overtook her. She pushed her away again. This continued until they reached the kitchen. The younger was momentarily free, but the older was close behind. Her eyes were filled with rage, her hands were out for blood.

The younger looked on in fear. Her time was running out. With no other option in sight, she grabbed a kitchen knife. The blade penetrated the older woman's side as she lunged. She backed up, stunned by the sudden attack. Both woman stared at the knife, one in surprise the other in horror of what she'd done. Then, realization kicked in. And the chase continued until the younger was cornered into the bedroom closet.

The final words Mai heard clearly. The older woman panted out her last few breaths, her mouth turned up in a sneer, "If I'm going to die, you're going with me!"

The younger let out a heartbreaking sob, before the door slammed in her face. The older woman lived out her final moments sitting in front of the closet door. A creepy, satisfied smile was plastered on her face.

Mai continued to stare even as the woman disappeared. The image, like many others she'd dream up, was probably going to stick with her for a long while. The violence was so horrific, so senseless. Who knew how long that young woman had put up with it up until that point? And how long was she stuck there afterwards?

It made sense now. The suffocation she'd felt earlier must've been hers. The anger had to belong to the psycho woman who killed her. And they were trapped together in that space for eternity.

-"Your friends are expelling the evil one as we speak. Once she is gone, the trapped spirit will be free to move on,"-

The scene changed to the present day. Mai could see Bou-san and Ayako standing out in the hall as John stood inside the room. He recited his verses and splashed his holy water. The evil spirit screamed in response. Her presence was weaker than Mai remembered it being.

-"Why did we have to see that?"- If they were already taking care of the problem, was it really necessary? Mai could've lived her whole life without witnessing that scene.

-"These visions are your gift. I cannot stop them most of the time,"- Yi reminded her.

-"I don't think 'gift' is the right word,"- Mai grumbled.

Was that why she kept having nightmares? Were they all real, too? Her mind went back to the reoccurring vision she'd had before this. The same faces that haunted her there were plastered on the missing person fliers. Did they suffer the same fate?

-"I will help you the best I can. But you must tell Master,"-

-"Lin-san? Why?"-

-"He can teach you ways to control your gift. So, perhaps your well-being won't suffer,"-

The idea of Lin being her teacher both intrigued her and terrified her. She was eager to learn more about this 'gift' and anything else he could teach her. But she'd embarrassed herself in front of him so much already. The last thing she wanted was to open herself up to further mortification.

Would he even want to teach her? He'd been kind to her ever since 'the Incident' yesterday. He'd smiled at her a few times over the course of the morning. And he hadn't put up his usual defensive shield in a few days. But that didn't mean he wanted her to continuously barge into his personal bubble.

-"Can't you teach me?"- Mai wondered. -"You lead me this far."-

Yi smiled, amused. Her eyes shone with a knowledge that seemed to pierce right through to Mai's true thoughts. -"I can assist, but Master will be a better choice. He's a good teacher."-

-"I'm sure he's a swell educator,"- That wasn't the problem. Her inability to remain professional was, however.

-"He wants to help you,"- Yi giggled as Mai pouted in disbelief. -"And you need to let him in."-

She needed to let him in? She was sure that the last thing he wanted was to hear all the sordid stories of her life. And he surely wouldn't want to be privy to her secret double life. Even if he didn't expose her, he wouldn't want to be associated with her. She was just a little girl pretending to be someone she wasn't.

But she did need to figure this newfound talent out. She could ask her friends if they knew anything about it. They might not be of much help, though. With Lin, she could be sure that he had the knowledge - if what his spirit servant said was true, anyways. But Mai knew in her heart that Yi spoke the truth.

-"I'll talk to him about the vision,"- Mai sighed.

Yi grinned in victory. Then, her hands flew up to the back of her head. Her fingers delicately pried the ornate hair pin from her hair, letting the remaining strands fall. She held the hair pin out to Mai. "Take this and show it to Master."

Mai reached out for it. Taking it in her hands, her fingers gently traced the red jewels that made up a dragon. The metal stick that was used to clasp it in was cold - and sharp. Mai pricked her finger on it. It wasn't enough to draw blood, just enough to hurt. She slid the pin into her pocket for safekeeping.

-"Is it time to return?"- With this new resolution, Mai wasn't as eager to go as she had been.

-"Yes, we shall see each other again soon,"- after the words left her lips, Yi changed into her orb form.

Her orb was joined by the millions of other spirits. Mai found herself suspended in the void that brought her here. This time, she saw a light in the distance. She felt it tug at her, pulling her towards it. She didn't resist it, hoping it would lead her to where she belonged. The light enveloped her. It blinded her until she once again in the dark.

Slowly, she blinked. The world was bright, but not as bright as that light had been. It was the familiar florescent of artificial light illuminating the room. But what room? Where was she? She appeared to be reclining on a couch. The material wasn't too soft, nor was it particularly fluffy. It probably wasn't meant for slumber. Looking around, she caught the leg of a coffee table. She must be in a living room.

She pushed herself up carefully, not wanting a repeat of yesterday. Almost as soon as she did, Masako sprung at her. She daintily sat at Mai's feet. Suddenly, Mai remembered where she was. She was in Mrs. Ikeda's house. She'd been upstairs with Masako when the evil spirit shoved them in the closet. Then, she'd gone to the spirit realm with Yi. Wait, where was Lin?

Her eyes searched the seats across from her, but found them empty. She noticed the blue spirit floating in her peripheral. The blue spirit had been the one to stay with Lin, so he had to be nearby. Finally, she looked behind her.

There he was, watching over her. His gaze softened the moment their eyes met, but she could still see traces of worry. Was he worried about her?

"How long was I out this time?" she groaned.

Lin chuckled. He actually chuckled. "Not very long at all. Maybe fifteen minutes at most. How do you feel?"

Self conscious. Overwhelmed. Inadequate. "Tired."

"Naturally," Masako chimed in. "This wouldn't have happened if you weren't exhausted to begin with."

Mai's gaze fell on the medium. Masako sat as usual, poised with wisdom and knowledge. But Mai couldn't help but frown. Something told her that in this instance, she was wrong.

"I wasn't tired before now," she shook her head.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Lin asked. When Mai turned around, he wasn't focused on her. But she could see a hypothesis forming in his brain.

"Yes, but Yi called it a vision," Mai had the pleasure of seeing the shock color his expression. His grey eye was entirely focused on her now. She took the opportunity to relay all that she'd been shown. But she left out Yi's advice, she'd think more on that later.

"You're claiming that the daughter accidentally killed the mother, so the mother spent her dying breath getting revenge?" Masako asked.

"I just told you what I saw," Mai shrugged.

"It does fit what I've sensed. And such visions are not unheard of," Masako didn't exactly sound convinced. Lin remained silent, his thoughts spiraling somewhere Mai couldn't follow.

Mai probably wouldn't have believed herself either. If Yi hadn't been there, she would've wrote it off as another bad dream. Actually, if it wasn't for Yi's hair pin poking her in the leg, she probably would've still thought it was a dream. The hair pin!

"Ah, Yi wanted me to show you this," Mai pulled it out and held it in front of Lin. His brow furrowed as he took it from her. His fingers brushed against hers, leaving a trail of warmth behind.

"Who is this Yi?" Masako was not one to be left out.

"One of my shiki," Lin answered curtly. His focus was still on the hair pin.

"A shiki?" Mai pondered aloud as the spirit in question nuzzled her cheek.

"Yes, they're like a familiar or a contracted spirit," Lin responded, despite the fact that he was still pondering her other situation. "My five shiki have all made a contract with me to help whenever I need them."

"Ah, so that's what Jun meant when he said they were tied to you," Mai smiled. "That's really cool."

Her words earned her a beautiful smile in response. His eye pierced her with an expression she didn't quite recognize. Her heart fluttered as she remained paralyzed by his gaze.

Then, Masako broke the spell. "You can sense them, but you don't know what they are?"

"To be fair, I couldn't see them until yesterday," Mai defended herself as she turned to face Masako again. "Jun only told me the bare minimum and Yi doesn't really speak. Well, with words anyway."

-"I could have had plenty of opportunity to answer any questions you had,"- the yellow spirit reminded her. He buzzed irately in front of her. His disappointment from yesterday had yet to dissipate.

-"Can we please not talk about that right now?"- Mai pleaded. She still wasn't sure how comfortable Lin would feel about his shiki (apparently) trying to force her onto him. Jun huffed, but dropped the subject. -"Thank you."-

He moved to pout on her shoulder, where he knew she couldn't ignore him. Sighing, she turned her attention back to Masako. The medium blinked back at her. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was just slightly agape.

"You can see them? And they talk to you?"

Mai nodded carefully, "Yes."

"And one of them met you in your dream-scape and gave you an ornate hair pin? And you were able to bring it into the waking world?"

It was Mai's turn to blink. The whole thing did sound pretty ridiculous. But there was no other way it could've ended up in her pocket. She'd never own such a beautiful thing. The closest thing she had was a necklace of her mother's. It was similar in design.

"It sounds like astral projection," Lin's voice sounded sure and calm. Mai was about to turn around to look at him, but she froze. His fingers were in her hair, pulling it gently into place. Too soon, his fingers were gone. In their place was the weight of the hair pin.

Mai's hand started inching towards the back of her head. She forced it into her lap. She wanted to feel the pin, but she'd probably just end up knocking it out. Then again, if she accidentally did that, maybe he'd do it all over again. No, she had to get control of herself. Focus, Mai.

"What's astral projection?"

Her question, however, went unanswered. Because no soon than it had left her lips, the other's returned from their mission. The first thing Bou-san did was tackle her in a hug. So, Ayako's first task was to remove him from Mai. Then, she started interrogating her about her well-being. John stood off to the side with a smile on his face. After assuring everyone she was fine (for the fifteenth time), they settled down.

"So, Hara-san," Bou-san turned everyone's attention on the medium. "What do you sense now?"

Masako closed her eyes, searching as though she hadn't sensed the moment they vacated the home. Mai smirked knowing she was still prone to theatrics. "They're gone."

Bou-san flopped down into a chair, sagging in equal parts relief and exhaustion. In the chair beside him, Ayako relaxed. John closed his eyes, sending up a prayer of thanks. Mai watched them in admiration. She'd seen a glimpse of their power during her vision and it gave her a newfound appreciation for her friends. They were an odd bunch, but she was lucky to know them.

She pulled her knees to her chest as she watched them. Resting her chin on her knees, she glanced down to her sock-clad feet. Now, where were her shoes? Looking around, she found them on the floor in front of the couch. There, they had been placed neatly. Realization dawned once again from that little clue.

Mai turned her head slightly to look at the culprit. The man who had carried her (not once, but twice) was quiet as usual. His gaze studied the scene before him curiously. As his attention was elsewhere, she was free to take note of the amusement in his grey eye. She was close enough to witness the slight uptick of his lips.

She'd come to know more about him than she thought she would. But there was still so much she wanted to unlock, more mystery she wanted to unravel. Why was he here? Did he have a family? Friends? Girlfriend? How long was he here for? When was he going to leave her? How much would it hurt when he did?

His eye met hers. Time paused as his fingers brushed a stray hair from her eyes. A full grown smile graced his beautiful face. Mai's heart melted. Her stomach was in knots as she smiled back. She knew it was too late. She was already a goner.


	5. Twists and Turns of Fate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He probably missed them, having been stuck here for three months. And when he finished with whatever he was here for, he'd return.
> 
> And she'd still be here.
> 
> In a way, she kind of envied him. He had a place to return to, a place to call home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

After an eventful couple of days, Lin cherished the quiet. The whir of his laptop fan and the hum of the room's heater mingled with Shibuya's soft breaths. Here, in the darkness, there was peace.

There were no Hara's or Matsuzaki's to glare at him. There were no invasive, albiet friendly, invitations from Takigawa to join him for a drink. There was no nosy co-worker. No mischievous twins. No young priest that happened to smile a little too much at a certain brunette.

It was just he and Mai in the quiet.

And of course his shiki were there, somewhere. They deserved to be, considering how much work they had to put in for this to happen. Lin knew he'd never would've convinced her on his own. Especially since she was so wary of him. But she did agree to let him help.

Today was their first session. She was supposed to try and project on command. Lin was pretty sure she passed, but he'd have to wait until she woke up to be entirely sure. That was one thing he disliked about this training, he couldn't keep an eye on her progress as it happened. He was stuck waiting until she could tell him.

He'd brushed up on his astral projection research for the first half hour. There wasn't too much on it, so that distraction had dwindled quickly. He couldn't even carry out his original mission while he waited. The whole thing was paused until the DNA test results came back. Though, he already knew what they were going to say. Mai Shibuya was Mai Taniyama, the half-sister of Eugene and Oliver Davis.

Her infectious positivity was similar to Gene's. Her stubbornness reminded him so much of Oliver's. She had the same excitement for learning as they did. She'd tackled life with a similar determination, despite (or maybe because) their unfortunate circumstances. Yes, he could see a family resemblance.

Now, he had to find some way of telling her. He figured Hara would've told her his true reason for being here, but it seemed the medium had kept her lips tight on the matter. It made him wonder what her intentions were. Was she really looking out for Mai? Or was she prolonging the inevitable departure out of jealousy? Lin never was good at understanding teenage girls.

Whatever the reason, Hara hadn't scared Mai away from him. Yet. He needed to break the news to her in a way that wouldn't having her running from him. It was this fear that had him procrastinating. He didn't want her to feel betrayed.

He felt like he was lying to her every time he called out to her. His heart clenched whenever he caught her staring at him, like she was trying to figure him out. He wanted nothing more than to tell her everything. But he was terrified he'd lose her.

Right now, he was content. She was still there, almost within reach. Any moment now, she'd wake up. She'd turn her bright eyes on him, eager to share whatever she'd learned. For a moment, she'd forget to be self-conscious around him. He'd get a glimpse of the real her. Hopefully she'd get more comfortable with him and she could be herself all the time. And, just maybe, he could be himself too.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mai woke to the sound of a conversation. The voices were quiet, trying not to wake her. One of them sounded garbled, like it was filtered through a speaker. The words they spoke were English.

["Madoka's complaints have increased ever since you ignored her the other day,"] the garbled male voice sounded amused.

["I didn't ignore her,"] Lin nearly sounded irritated. Mai's curiosity piqued.

["That's not what she says,"] the other voice laughed. ["She's threatened to hop on a plane and join you. Don't worry, though. Oliver talked her out of it. For now."]

["Great,"] Lin huffed. Just who was this Madoka?

["We'll try to hold her back as long as we can,"] the other voice was still laughing. ["Though I can't fault her too much for being impatient."]

["At least you aren't calling me every day for a status report,"]

["I know you'll tell us when you know something for sure,"] His laughter had subsided, but Mai could hear a smile in his voice. ["There's no point in bothering you until then, anyways."]

["It's useless to give an update for every new lead, since more often than not they've led me nowhere,"] frustration laced Lin's tone, making Mai wonder what exactly he was he was looking for. "It's taken me three months to get this far."

["Come on, Koujo. You have to admit that it hasn't been all bad,"] his friend's suffering didn't damper his mood. ["How's Sleeping Beauty doing?"]

Mai decided now would be a good time to stop eavesdropping. She was pretty sure she knew who he was talking about here. But she wasn't so sure she wanted to hear what he had to say about her. There was this knowing lilt to his voice that concerned her.

She made a show of yawning and blinking a few times. Taking her time, she sat up. Her eyes stared lazily at him, which wasn't too hard to do as she was still pretty groggy. He sat at the desk, his seat turned slightly to face her. He aimed a small smile at her.

"How are you feeling?" His grey eye filled with concern. Mai wasn't sure if he was worried about her health or how much she might've heard of his conversation.

"Tired," she mumbled honestly. She wasn't sure how long she and Yi had spent on the astral plane, but it certainly hadn't been a restful experience for her physical body.

Lin frowned, but nodded his head. She took his non-reaction to mean her condition probably wasn't too serious. But not necessarily good, either.

["Is she awake?"] the other voice asked, bringing both occupants attention to the laptop. From her position on the bed, Mai could make out a silhouette moving on the screen.

["Yes, I'll have to call you back later,"] Lin reached out to hang up on the caller.

["Wait, can I talk to her?"] the eager voice continued without waiting for a response. This time, he spoke Japanese. "You're Mai Shibuya, right? I'm Gene, the best friend of this recluse."

Mai had to fight back a smile as Lin scowled at his new description. Cautiously, she let out a loud, "Hello."

Lin motioned for her to come closer. Mai slid off the bed, accepting the invitation. She walked the short distance until she standing behind his chair. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the screen. What she saw almost had her take a step back.

There, smiling widely on the screen, was a young man. He looked to be around her age. His raven black hair was a familiar shade. The shape of his jaw, the turn of his lips, were all strikingly similar to his. She felt like she six years old again, staring up at her father's poster. But then, she looked at his eyes and she came back to reality.

Where her father's eyes had been the same shade as hers, this young man had eyes of cobalt blue. She'd never seen anything like it. And in them she could see a warmth, a kindness, that drew her in. She quickly found herself smiling back.

"Lin says you can astral project," Mai shot a glance at Lin, but his expression was blank. "That's pretty impressive."

"Uh, I guess," Mai shrugged. It was pretty cool when she was following Ayako around today. She'd messed with her a bit by moving her stuff when she wasn't looking. Mai wouldn't be surprised if Ayako mentioned being haunted by some spirit tomorrow.

But since the astral plane was currently the only outlet for her post-cognitive visions (that's what Lin called her scary accurate nightmares), she wasn't exactly thrilled. Then again, Lin had also said that there was always a possibility that other abilities would manifest to open her up to these visions. At least she didn't have to worry about seeing the past of everyone she came into physical contact with. Yet.

"It can be a scary experience, sometimes," Gene's eyes softened in understanding.

"Have you ever experienced it before?" His wording made it sound like he had.

"Not exactly and not directly," his brow furrowed as he tried to find the right words. "I've seen similar things through Oliver's eyes."

"Oliver?" Mai repeated the name with near perfect enunciation. As Lin's head jerked in surprise and Gene's grin widened, she silently thanked Yasu.

"Ou-" Gene started to say something, but stopped himself. He looked away from the camera before returning with a sheepish smile. "Yeah, my brother. My twin, to be exact."

"So, you guys have like twin telepathy?" Mai mused.

"Exactly!" came his enthusiastic response. "He also has visions like yours, but he's limited to only seeing them when he touches either a person or an object belonging to the person."

"Like every time he touches someone?" This poor guy was living out her fears.

"Not anymore. Koujo, here, taught him how to block them until he wants to use them. Though, occasionally his powers will flare up when the person he's reading has a strong emotion," Gene admitted. "For the most part, he avoids people anyways. But that has nothing to do with his abilities. Probably."

Lin snorted. If Mai hadn't been intrigued earlier, she definitely was after that reaction. This Oliver character seemed like an interesting person.

"We'll do lessons on blocking soon," Lin assured her, possibly taking her newly piqued curiosity to be about controlling her own power. "After we get a better idea of what you can do."

It did give her comfort. She'd been worried she'd never get a full night's sleep again. But if she learnt to block her powers, there was still hope. Hibernation, here I come.

"You're lucky to have found Koujo. He's the best teacher for that kind of stuff," Gene praised. Mai watched the tips of Lin's ears turn pink. Gene continued with a stage whisper. "He's also a pretty good maths tutor."

"I'll try to remember that," Mai giggled. In reality, she had no need for a tutor in any school subject, but she wasn't about to tell either of them that.

"We should actually get back to the lesson," Lin reminded her of the real reason she was back in his hotel room. "We don't have much time left before your meeting."

"Shoot. I almost forgot about Yasu," Mai glanced at the clock. She only had a half-hour left. Time flew when you were having an out of body experience.

"Alright, I'll get off here," Gene pouted. "I'll call you later. And Mai, it was nice talking to you."

It was easy to return his warm smile with one of her own. "It was nice talking to you, too."

And once she'd gotten over her initial freak out over him being a younger doppelganger of her father, it really was nice. He was easy to talk to. Like an old friend she hadn't seen in awhile. But like one who had no knowledge of her double life.

They said their farewells and Lin immediately got down to business. He asked her if she managed to project and how her experience went and other questions. Some time during the interrogation, Mai felt a foreign object in her pocket. Digging into it, she found a ball point pen. It was fancy, with a name monogrammed on the body. It was also Ayako's favorite.

"Oops," The words slipped out as she stared at it.

"Is something wrong?" Lin questioned. His hands hovered above his keyboard, waiting to see if her next words were worthy of being documented.

"Not exactly. I just kind of stole Ayako's pen," she admitted. "I was trying to find the perfect hiding place for it and I guess I forgot it in my pocket."

As she spoke, Lin's shoulders started to shake. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to rein in his amusement. Mai's mouth dropped in shock as she realized he was outright laughing at her. After her shock wore off, though, she giggling was alongside him.

"I'm sorry," Lin spoke after they calmed down. There was still a smile on his face. "Only you would use the astral plane to harass Matsuzaki and steal her pen in the process."

"Hey, I didn't mean to steal it!" she defended herself. "But I will admit it probably wasn't the smartest idea. I'm sure I'll get an earful tomorrow about the hotel being haunted."

She could already hear Ayako now, "This is clearly the work of a sitebound spirit. Someone must've done something to provoke it!" She shuddered the thought away.

"I think we're done for today," Lin finished with a few final strokes of his keys. "Next time, we're going to work on controlling your post-cognitive abilities."

"So, I'm going to try to have a vision on purpose?" Mai raised a brow at that.

Lin met her incredulous look with a serious expression. "Unfortunately, yes. Learning how it works and how to master it will help us when we need to block it."

Mai bit her lip and looked away. She didn't want to invite the nightmares in. She didn't like them when they were forced on her. But she supposed that, if it would help her in the long run, it could be worth it.

"Okay," she pouted, her eyes still trained on the generic curtains that hid the balcony from view.

"Ayumu has agreed to help. His past is the most non-violent," Lin's attempt at trying to comfort her had her heart doing strange things.

"Who's Ayumu?" Mai asked, trying to stuff down her unsolicited emotions.

"One of my shiki,"

As they spoke, the spirits came out from wherever they'd been hiding. All of them, excepting Yi, had given them space during their session. While most of them went to Lin, the blue one hovered in front of Mai.

"How do you do, Miss Mai?" the spirit buzzed. Unlike his co-spirits, he spoke in Japanese.

"You must be Ayumu," Mai smiled.

The orange spirit floated beside him and introduced herself, -"Hello, miss. My name is Chen."-

-"And I'm Qing!"- the green spirit flew over, bumping into the others. His excitement came off in waves.

Yi and Jun joined them in a calmer manner. Mai grinned brightly at the five of them. "-I look forward to working with you all.- Please take good care of me."

They rushed over to her, brushing up against her skin. Warm, fuzzy feelings coursed through her entire body. Her eyes closed, reveling in the feeling. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so safe, so calm. And she knew it wasn't just the spirits that had her feeling this way.

Opening her eyes, she found Lin staring back at her. The small smile, the one she'd been lucky enough to get accustomed to, graced his lips. She couldn't read the look in his eye, but her heart reacted anyways. The stupid thing sped up in her chest, making thought nearly impossible.

This man was supposed to help her block things. So, why was it that every time he came around, she started to let her guard down? He was quickly making his way into her heart. And he'd only made the mistake of being nice to her and helping her out. Was she just lonely?

But she'd always been lonely. This was different. Whatever she felt with him, it was unlike anything she'd felt with anyone else. It grew and grew with the time she spent by his side. He was like a beacon of light, calling her home. Drawing her closer.

"It's getting late, Mai," he warned, reluctance lacing his tone. But her name fell from his lips and that was all she heard echoing in her head. It was the first time he hadn't addressed her with her (fake) surname. And it felt like the first time he addressed the real her.

A little too slowly, his words did finally register. Another glance at the clock told her time was up. With a sigh, she started for the door. She turned around to give both Lin and his shiki one last smile. "Thank you for the lesson." ...and everything else.

Lin nodded, "See you, tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Mai agreed, before stepping out into the empty hallway.

The warmth that held her in the room dissipated as she walked the hallway. Whatever spell he'd had her under still hadn't broke, but the distance did give her more leave to think. She knew she had to figure out how to control more than her budding powers. She also needed to gain control of her heart.

She couldn't have it trying to escape every time she thought of Lin. That conversation she'd overheard (eavesdropped on) was a necessary reminder. He didn't belong here. He had a home somewhere else. He had friends and a girl (friend?) waiting for him there. He probably missed them, having been stuck here for three months. And when he finished with whatever he was here for, he'd return.

And she'd still be here.

In a way, she kind of envied him. He had a place to return to, a place to call home. Although Mai had lived here for a few years (working at the same place, all the while), it never really felt like home. Sure, she had friends here - ones she loved strongly. But they all had homes and lives away from here. Even Ayako had another job lined up at her family's hospital. They could all leave at a moment's notice.

She'd always known this, deep down. So, why was it that this guy's departure was giving her heart palpitations? Why was he causing her to feel homesick for a place she'd yet to find? Why did she want so badly to find it with him?

She shook her head, causing Yi to buzz against her skin. The spirit sent a wave of curiosity over to Mai. But Mai just forced a smile. There was no point in dragging the spirit into her problems. Plus, Yi was likely to disagree with her plan to guard her heart. She seemed to encourage any situation that led to the opposite.

Mai had to wonder what the shiki's intentions were. They'd all but pushed her onto their master. And they were very concerned with her well-being. But why? It wasn't like she had anything remarkable about her. Except maybe the stupid abilities that started growing after they arrived.

Maybe that was why they were interested in her. It was the only thing she could think of. She probably wasn't even the first one they'd been like this towards. Though, that thought had her feeling a little sad.

She shoved all this down as the lobby came into view. And in it stood a friendly face. Yasuhara was leaning against the wall, with his hands in his pockets. His bespectacled grey eyes were hidden behind his bangs. His smirk turned into a grin when she arrived.

"Finally! I was starting to think I got stood up," Yasu teased.

"Sorry, I was distracted," Mai admitted sheepishly.

"What had you so distracted that you were late for a date with your bestest friend?" His eyes took on a mischievous glint as he opened the door.

Blood rushed to Mai's face as she ducked under his arm and outside. She hadn't told anyone about the training sessions with Lin. Heck, she hadn't even said anything about her newfound abilities. "Just, ya know...stuff."

He walked close, leaning down so no one on the street would overhear. "That stuff wouldn't have anything to do with a certain guest who's bed you crashed on would it?"

"Who told you?!" Mai shrieked, her face burning brighter than before. "It was Bou-san, wasn't it? The traitor."

"Don't blame him too much, sweetheart," he laughed. "He was merely worried about you. Poor thing was so out of sorts, he didn't even return my hug."

"I'm pretty sure he was fine, then," Mai mumbled.

Ignoring her, Yasu threw his arm around her shoulders. "I for one am proud of you. My little girl is all grown up."

She rolled her eyes at his fake tears and jabbed an elbow into his stomach, "Nothing happened."

"Ah, is that a sigh of disappointment, I hear?"

"I think your hearing's gone bad in your old age,"

"Really? Cause I think my hearing is in excellent health considering my age," Yasu quipped. "I don't think 104 ever looked so good."

Mai let out a laugh. "How's university life treating you, old man?"

["Me thinks the lady doth avoids-eth too much,"]

"That's not a word - in any language,"

"It is in Yasunese,"

"Not a thing,"

["Now the lady doth protest-eth too much,"]

"Yasu!" Mai laughed, elbowing him again.

"Fine, fine! I'll play your little game," he conceded. "But don't think your time's not coming."

He did most of the talking as they made their way to their usual destination. He answered every question she had about his classes, his family, his social circle - all with an unusual ease. They paused when they reached the 24-HR convenience store that stood at the halfway mark between their respective abodes. Mai went one way to gather the snacks and Yasu went the other to prepare the ramen cups. Then, they met up again at one of the covered tables outside the store.

This had been their routine ever since he'd entered university. They usually met up once every couple of weeks to catch up over instant noodles. Although it wasn't the healthiest of meals, it was good for her soul. Yasuhara always had a positive and energetic look at life. He was a good influence on her - most days. Other days, he was attempting to talk her into seducing guests at the hotel.

"I think I have exhausted every single topic concerning me," Yasu said after slurping up the last of his noodles. His face morphed into an unusual look of seriousness. His all-seeing grey eyes pierced her, his glasses only magnifying the effect. "There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

Mai automatically straightened. His current demeanor was so unlike him. It scared her as much as it made her curious. "And what's that?"

He looked away for a moment. He swallowed, second guessing his decision. Then, he pinned her down with his gaze once again. Determination blazed in his eyes. "I know who you really are."

Mai froze. All the air in her lungs left. The blood drained from her face. Her heart stopped. Only to restart with a vengeance. She had to look away from his expecting expression until she could get her thoughts straight. Did he really know? What would he do with this information? Did it matter?

Taking a steadying breath, Mai returned his gaze cautiously. "H-how did - How did you find out?"

He scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. He knew he'd made her into this nervous wreck. "I noticed how unnerved you got when we were discussing Ikuto and then your outburst. It didn't feel like it was fueled by exhaustion. So, I did a little research. And I came across a video of you singing. The song sounded exactly like it did when you sang if for my birthday."

Of course he would notice. Despite his outward appearance, he was always observing and analyzing his surroundings. He picked up on things most people wouldn't. It was a trait that made him a great researcher. Which was awesome - unless the person he was looking into was you.

"Do you -" Mai stopped, her eyes burning. She begged the tears not to fall. "Are you mad?"

"Mad? Of course not!" he grinned at her. "Mai is still Mai. That doesn't change if you're a Taniyama or a Shibuya. Or Mrs. Last-name-of-the-guy-who's-bed-you-slept-in. You're still my best friend regardless."

Mai chunked a box of pocky at his head, but laughed all the while. "Good. And thank you."

"Now that's that out of the way, it's time to get serious," he opened the box up, offering her a portion of her ammo. "Did you really get stuck in closet with the Masako Hara?"

Mai groaned. The next few hours were her turn in the hot seat. She recalled the case and explained her connection with Masako. She broke down and told him about her abilities and how Lin agreed to train her. She didn't go into too much details about her visions or what they were about. But that was fine as he was more interested in teasing her about Lin's "training sessions" (his emphasis).

Mai left feeling lighter than she had in weeks. It was surprising, how much better she felt now that her secret was out. She had one less person to lie to. And he'd taken it rather well. Maybe she was just being paranoid by thinking everyone would hate her for it.

She skipped part of the way back to her apartment. Her mood was lifted so high, she almost missed it. The hair on her neck stood up. A chill ran down her spine. Every nerve in her body was on edge. Then, she heard it. The voice that haunted her nights.

"Hello, miss. Could you help me?" the voice purred, causing Mai's stomach to clench.

Mai kept walking, her pace a little faster than it had been before. The streets were still pretty full, despite the dark hour. She could pretend she didn't hear him. But everything in her told her it didn't work. His eyes were still on her, she could feel them. His pace was keeping up with hers.

Her apartment was only a couple block from here, but she didn't want to lead him there. She lived alone with minimal neighbors, most of whom were elderly. She didn't want to take the chance of him cornering her there. Her best bet was to go to the hotel, which was fortunately situated on this block.

She ducked into the lobby that she'd left the safety of only a few hours ago. He was still hot on her heals. Her eyes quickly scanned the lobby and the adjacent room for people she could trust. She came up short. Her breathing quickened with her pace as she weaved through the familiar halls. Her feet leading the way towards protection.

She kept going until she reached a room she instinctively knew was safe. She pulled out the key card that gave her access to every room in the hotel and unlocked the door. She rushed into the room. Throwing the door shut, she employed every locking system it had installed. The chain lock, the deadbolt, and of course the automatic locking mechanism were all secure. Then, she stood on her tiptoes to look out the peek hole.

There, in the middle of the hallway, he stood. His dark eyes looked darted around the hall, trying to figure out where she escaped to. His thin mouth was marred in a scowl. His hands were balled into fists at his side. Then, he stormed off.

"Vlad,"

As soon as he disappeared, Mai's knees gave out. Her mind replayed images of those girls. Of what he did. Of what he could've done to her. He saw her. He was after her. He almost had her. Mai covered her mouth as sobs shook her whole body. She didn't want to die like that. She didn't want her face plastered on the missing person posters.

She wanted to live.


	6. I Feel You Holding Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mai fell to the floor. Her fingers gripped the cool surface of the desk. Her breaths became shallow. She still had work. She still had to leave this room and enter the very halls where he had been lurking. But first, she had to calm down and pick herself off the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

The smell of earl grey and old books surrounded Oliver. It was quiet, with only the steady hum of the computer and the turn of a page breaking the silence. These sounds were joined by the occasional clink of his tea cup landing back on its saucer. The perfect early morning.

Beside his quickly dwindling tea, his computer sat. The screen still showed the empty, Japanese hotel room he'd been electronically communicating with for the last half hour. Ever since Madoka had called his human correspondent and interrupted their little meeting. He had half a mind to shut down the video call completely.

It wasn't Lin's fault. Madoka still hadn't seemed to grasp the full scale of the mission that loomed over his head. Or how long it would take. It was a difficult task with many obstacles that stood in his way.

Some of the obstacles Oliver could've easily removed. A key piece to the puzzle lay in his hands. Or more accurately, it sat on his desk atop of some papers, currently serving as a paperweight. Made of ribbon, the color was a faded blue. Teddy bears danced along the tattered fabric. The child's hair bow had seen better days.

It was the only thing they had connecting them to their sister. Well, other than blood. But if their previous experience was anything to go by, that was sometimes a thin connection at best. Through this small trinket of memories, however, Oliver was able to see her life now. He was able to see what she did; what she ate; how she interacted with those around her. He could see who she really was without the risk of her knowing who they were.

At least, that's how it initially started. After doing a few readings, he'd already become attached. Now, he mostly did it to check up on her until the day Lin brought her home. Which could've been sooner if he'd told Lin he'd already found her. But Oliver felt things would work out better if he left it alone. And they did seem to be progressing well.

Of course, it still wasn't fast enough for Madoka. As Gene was the only other person who was privy to Oliver's psychometric stalking, she wasn't aware of just how close Lin was. And it didn't seem like Lin was being very open about it either.

Though Gene had his own theory, Oliver knew Lin was being cautious. He didn't want to get any of their hopes up. Oliver figured he should probably tell him he already knew that he was on the right path. He had actually planned on it during this little chat. Then, Madoka decided that this was the perfect moment to carry out her interrogation. Now, he wasn't feeling as giving as he had been.

With a sigh, he snapped his book shut. He reached for his tea cup and downed the last of the beverage. As he sat the empty cup back down, his eyes fell on the old hair bow. His fingers itched to read it again. He knew from Gene that she'd gone out with a friend after her session with Lin. He wondered if she made it home safely.

His gaze flickered to the computer screen. He was still staring at the desk chair, empty excepting the jacket draped over the back. But that probably wasn't a permanent state. Any moment, Madoka would release Lin from her torture. While Oliver was mostly resolved to come clean, he didn't want it to be because he was caught in the act. He preferred it to be entirely of his own volition. Even if it was merely a matter of pride.

He'd been essentially left on hold for over thirty minutes. By all means, he had every right to end this meaningless video call. He had every right the moment Lin escaped to the balcony with his cell phone screaming in his hand. Had he actually been busy, he probably would have. Now was as good a time as any.

His finger worked at the mouse pad. Stopping as his cursor hovered over the End Call button. Then, he heard the sound of a slamming door coming through the speakers. He waited for Lin to reappear, but several minutes passed with no change. Then, the sobbing began.

His mind scanned the possibilities of what lay beyond the screen's view. It could be of a supernatural nature, a ghost who died in the room. Or it could something entirely human. Like a certain young woman who was starting to warm up to the room's current occupant.

"Hello," Oliver called out. The sobbing continued. "Hello, who's there?"

Silence fell. While he was grateful that the sobbing had ceased, the quiet was a little unnerving. He still hadn't determined whether the source was human or not. Although, had it been paranormal, Lin should've noticed it by now.

He stared at the screen for any signs of life (or lack thereof). After an antagonizing minute, something appeared. A petite woman came into view. Her steps were slow and her wide eyes darted around the room. Even with the grainy resolution, Oliver could see her shoulders shaking. Mai.

"Take the jacket off the back of the chair and put it on," he ordered.

She blinked at the screen. "Oliver?"

His eyes widened. She'd guessed it from the first words out of his mouth. "Yes, now put on the jacket and sit down."

She frowned, but did as he asked. Her movements were sluggish. "You know, you're really bossy."

"I think I have enough credentials to give me the right to be so. And if that fails to convince you, I can always fall back on my good looks," He smirked. His words were more of a distraction than truth.

She cracked a smile, but her eyes were still sad. "I don't think I've met someone so narcissistic before. I'm going to call you Naru-chan."

"If that's what you want," Oliver shrugged, the smirk fading from his face. He really didn't care what she called him. "Now, Mai, tell me what happened."

She pulled her feet up into the chair, curling into herself. Her eyes focused on something in the room he couldn't see. Her words barely reached his speakers, "What happened? Where would I even start?"

"At the beginning, I should think," Oliver prodded, managing to inspire a weak glare in his direction. He stared back patiently until she finally relented.

"You know about my post-cognitive visions, right?" He nodded. "Well, not too long ago, I had this vision involving these young women."

Oliver pulled put a notebook and started documenting her recollection. His eyes narrowed as she gave the briefest description of her vision possible. He could tell she was holding back and it didn't take much to guess why. There were various reasons why a man would murder young women, but more often than not their death wasn't his true purpose.

"Then, walking home, I heard his voice on the street," Mai continued, her eyes had long since avoided the screen. He straightened in his seat, fearing the next part of her story. "He called out to me. But I just kept going. I didn't stop until I came here. And when I looked out the peek hole, there he was."

Her body no longer appeared to vibrate. Her face, however, now had tear tracks. And her eyes were red and puffy, still shining with unshed tears. This encounter had been too much. Had she been a moment slower, she would've been at that monster's mercy.

Anger flared up in Oliver's chest. His skin buzzed with energy. He took a deep breath, trying to contain it. He couldn't afford to have a supernatural fit right now. Not while Mai still needed him.

"You're safe now," his words were soft. They held a calmness he didn't really feel.

She turned to him with another sad smile. "Yeah."

"Stay with Lin. Don't leave his side until we can figure out something to do about this," he was ordering her again. He didn't know how else to protect her. This was the best he could do from across the world.

"You are really bossy," she pouted. "Are you always this bossy?"

"When it comes to people's safety, yes," he informed her. She dropped the pout, choosing to watch him curiously. He stared back, noting the heaviness in her shoulders and the droop of her eyes. "Is there something you want to know?"

"There's a lot I want to know," she admitted with a rueful smile. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm sitting in my office at my home in England,"

"Were you guys born there?"

"No, we were born in America to an American mother and a Japanese father. When we were ten, the Davis family adopted us and we came to England,"

"So, English is probably your first language," she mused.

"Obviously," he grunted. "What's your first language?"

"Chinese," she grinned. "My mother didn't know much Japanese when I was born. I think we actually learned it together."

"Your father didn't teach you?" he asked cautiously. Although he knew a lot about her through his readings, there was also a lot she avoided.

"Not really," she frowned. "He never was around much. Even before . . ."

She trailed off, but he knew what she meant. Before he left. Before he abandoned another child. Before he set in motion the very events that would leave his daughter practically an orphan on the streets.

"Have you spoken to him recently?"

"Honestly, I haven't seen him since I was five," she sighed. "If anyone asked, I usually just told them I was pretty sure he was dead."

"But?"

She sighed again, her face betraying no emotion. Oliver mused that her current attitude was probably still the emotional shock running through her system. Had he asked her this at another time, her response was likely to be very different.

"I know he's still out there, somewhere. I have a trustworthy source that updates me whenever he pops up anywhere in Japan," she shrugged. "But as far as I'm concerned, my dad died a long time ago."

Silence fell upon them for a moment, before Oliver tentatively broke it. "If there was any possibility of your father having other offspring, would you be open to meeting them?"

Her eyes were more alert than they'd been for the whole conversation. She studied him in a way that made him wonder if she was close to figuring him out. "Like a little brother or sister?"

"Or older," he shrugged.

She wrapped her arms tighter around her legs as she thought. "An older sibling is less likely to be involved with him."

"Would that play a role in your decision?" he raised an eye brow at her.

She gave him a tired smile. "Maybe. But I don't know. I think - I'd want to meet them regardless."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not their fault their father's an idiot," Oliver fought back a snort. "But I think I'd want to even more so if they were older. And not just because he's least likely to be involved. Or maybe because of that. I'd just want to know if they're okay, if they're happy."

"Are you happy?"

"You ask a lot of questions," she pouted again, resting her head on her knees. Her eyes started to droop even more than before.

"I have a lot of curiosities," he quipped, keeping his tone even.

"You and me both," she mumbled, quickly losing her battle with exhaustion. Her eyes finally fluttered shut. Her breathing steadied out and her body relaxed. For the first time that night, she looked at peace.

Oliver watched her for a moment. His eyes took in every detail. Her reddish brown hair, a tousled mess from her experience. Her small frame, draped in the large jacket. Her fair skin. At the start of this conversation, she'd been startlingly pale. But her complexion seemed to improve as he got her talking. Looking at her, she appeared so delicate, so breakable. So vulnerable.

And now she had more than her brothers hunting her down. It was hard, knowing that her life was in danger and he was almost six thousand miles away. His only comfort was that he wasn't entirely helpless. One of the few men he trusted most in the world was right there with her.

The man in question finally surfaced after nearly an hour of being missing. When he came into view, whatever tension he'd undoubtedly felt disappeared. Shock and guilt took its place as he found Mai slumbering in his seat. His jacket was still wrapped around her. Without a word, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed.

Oliver waited until he had her settled before he spoke, "A man chased her into the hotel."

Lin sunk into the desk chair. A hand ran through his hair. His eyes were tight. "What happened?"

Oliver ran through what Mai had told him. He wasn't surprised to find that she hadn't mentioned any of it. He'd gotten the feeling she was usually pretty tight lipped about certain topics.

When he was finished, Lin's eyes flashed angrily. His jaw clenched. "Did she give you a description of what he looks like?"

"Not much of one," Oliver shook his head. "She only told me the basic information needed to explain how she ended up there. You could try to pry more out of her, but I doubt she'll be very forthcoming."

Lin nodded solemnly. It was likely he was familiar with the walls she'd erected. If she was this good at protecting her heart, Oliver was eager to see how well she guarded her mind with her abilities. But he was more eager to see the Mai that hid behind those walls.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mai wasn't even surprised when she opened her eyes and found herself in Lin's bed. It was starting to become routine by this point. Even though, at first, she couldn't remember exactly how she ended up there. She'd accepted it as something that just naturally happened. She was pretty sure for ninety percent of their relationship, she was passed out. At least seventy-five percent of that time was spent in his bed.

What was surprising, however, was the suit jacket she was practically swimming in. And the warm hand resting on her waist. Though her back was to him, she knew it had to be Lin's. Logically speaking, it was his room (and she totally didn't recognize if from just one glance like a creeper or anything). She wondered if he even knew it was there.

It almost felt like his hand was an anchor, keeping her from floating off to uncharted waters. Or maybe he was the anchor and his hand was the rope. She wasn't really good with analogies. Either way, she was successfully docked under his weight.

He probably wasn't aware of it. He was probably subconsciously reaching out for the warm body that somehow wormed it's way into his sheets. His subconscious probably thought she was his girlfriend from back home. That was a cheery thought to start the morning with.

Suppressing a groan, Mai formulated a plan of escape. She carefully wiggled out of his grasp, using a pillow as her replacement. She held her breath as his brow furrowed, stirring ever so slightly in his sleep. She didn't relax until he did.

Once he settled, however, she almost couldn't look away. He was even more beautiful while he slept. His fringe fell over most of his face. It took every ounce of self-restraint for her to not push it aside. To not trace the outline of his strong jaw. To not feel the soft flesh of his lips beneath her finger tips.

She spun around quickly, her face burning from the impure thoughts. She needed to get out the room. Even if only to save what little was left of her virtue - and her self respect. She looked at the ground for her shoes, but didn't find them. Shrugging off Lin's jacket, she tiptoed around the bed over to the desk chair. As she placed the jacket over the back of the chair, she noticed her shoes laying haphazardly under the desk. Suddenly, memories of the night before came back to her.

Vlad found her. He followed her. She found solace here. She talked to Naru. She told him everything. Vlad was still out there. She wasn't safe.

Mai fell to the floor. Her fingers gripped the cool surface of the desk. Her breaths became shallow. Naru had told her to stay with Lin, but she knew she couldn't just force herself onto him. Besides, she still had work. She still had to leave this room and enter the very halls where he had been lurking. But first, she had to calm down and pick herself off the floor.

-Breath in. Breath out. It's okay. You're going to be okay.-

Slowly, she stood up again. One hand still gripped the desk, but she was mostly upright. She focused on breathing for a few more seconds when she became aware of someone watching her. Turning her head, she caught Lin's eyes just in time to see the panic in them turn into relief.

"What are you doing?" his words were groggy. He sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Mai watched, mesmerized, before she could formulate a response.

"Um, grabbing my shoes?" her statement came out more like a question.

Lin shook his head, he pierced her with a seriousness in his eye. "You can't leave."

"I can't miss work," Mai hoped her tone was convincing. She had to fight against him with a resolve she didn't really have at that moment. "And I still have to go to my apartment. I mean, I'm wearing yesterday's clothes. I need a change and a shower."

He stared at her, only stopping to briefly glance at the jacket she'd borrowed for the night. It seemed like he was considering her wearing his clothes, before thinking better of it. After a moment, he slid out of bed and asked her to wait. He grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.

Mai sat down at the edge of the empty bed and slipped on her old, beat up sneakers. She was curious as to what he was planning. She was also curious as to why she was going along with it. Would she have stayed if there wasn't the possibility of a serial killer coming after her? Or was he a mass murderer? What was the difference? Maybe he was both. Maybe he was a serial killer who murdered in masses.

Mai shuddered. She only knew of four victims, but it wasn't difficult to believe there could be more. There was a certain confidence in how he led the girl Mai portrayed through the dilapidated building. He had a charm that earned her trust, causing her to ignore all the warning signs. She didn't think anything was amiss until it was too late. Until she saw the other girls who had disappeared earlier that night, all chained up.

Mai's fingers went to her neck. In a panic, she had sprinted for the door. But in his fury, he'd caught her. He smiled, soulless. He wrapped his hands around her neck. He squeezed tighter and tighter. His grin growing wider and wider. Until her world went black.

No, it wasn't hard to believe there were others. In fact, it'd be more surprising if there wasn't. But the better question would be, how many more victims would there be? And was she going to be one of them?

Mai's breathing hitched. Her hand now wrapped around her own throat, guarding it. She didn't want to go through that again. She didn't want to become another of his play-things. And she didn't want anyone else to, either.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Lin until he was standing right in front of her. He was so tall, she had to tilt her head back to look at his face. He was more awake now. His eye was more alert as it studied her closely. She wished she could say the same about her. All she could do was stare at him blankly.

Slowly, almost cautiously, his hand stretched out to her. His warm fingers gently pried hers off of her neck. He held her hand in his, caressing the back with his thumb. He stood there, quiet. Mai wondered which one he was more afraid of breaking - the silence or her.

"Are you ready?" he asked after a moment, his voice barely a whisper.

Mai blinked at him, "Ready for what?"

He smiled at her, but his expression was sad. With the hand that wasn't holding hers, he cupped the side of her face. Instinctively, she leaned into it. "Let's go get your things."

She sighed, giving up any dreams of fighting against whatever he had planned. She had neither the willpower nor the resources. "Yeah, okay."


	7. When Will We Finally Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was only nineteen. She had dreams of being a doctor. And she had the brains to do it. Her grandmother was always bragging about her; about her grades, about her friends, about her love for her family. The family she'd been ripped away from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

Convincing Mai she should stay with him was easier than he expected it to be. As independent as she was, he was preparing for opposition. He was not prepared for how quickly she folded.

If he was honest, he hated it. He wanted to see her fight back. He wanted to see the life sparking in her eyes. He wanted her to be her again. He'd have to be content with just having her close for now.

When he saw her curled up in his chair last night, he knew something was wrong. Although fear and concern were his primary emotions, his heart warmed at the sight. Out of all rooms she could've run into, she chose his as her safe place. He doubted it was a conscious thought. She most likely acted on instinct. But either way, it meant she trusted him.

If he had any doubt of that, all he had to do was look to the side of his dresser. Practically everything she owned was packed into three small boxes, all stacked up. A large duffel bag lay beside it, containing her entire wardrobe. This meager pile, this huge piece of her life, was now part of his.

She probably hadn't expected him to pack up her whole house (minus the sparse furniture). She'd given him leave to start packing her clothes while she showered and readied herself for work. He asked for the keys, so he could finish after he dropped her off. She relented, but she didn't know the full scale of what she relented to.

He wasn't feeling particularly guilty about it, though. He considered it fair since he hadn't wanted her to even go to work. But that was the one point she argued for. He wasn't going to deny her that - she had agreed to so much already. He did, however, make her promise that she would never be alone while she worked. He advised her to tell someone she was being followed, but it was anyone's guess if she would actually do it.

When he first heard what happened, he wanted nothing more than to lock her up in his room until he could find the guy and kill him. Actually, a large part of him still wanted to do that. Logically, he had no idea what the guy looked like and she still had a life she had to live. Logic couldn't stop him from fantasizing about obliterating the creep, though.

He wished there was some way of finding the guy. He didn't like twiddling his thumbs while Mai was out and about with a target on her back. She was the only one who knew this guy. Whether through visions or (unfortunately) in person, only she had seen him.

While she had given Oliver an description, it wasn't super helpful. They were looking for a thirty-some year old Japanese man of average height and build. He had dark hair and dark eyes. And he may or may not have been slightly attractive. It wasn't too surprising that she couldn't give a good description. The first good look she had was the through the eyes of someone else. And the second look was through the haze of fear.

His heart clenched. She'd been so close to living out her nightmare. Had she been a second later, she would've been gone. All the while, he was right there, completely oblivious to what she going through. When she made it into the room, his shiki hadn't bothered to inform him. They were too busy trying to assess her damage and keep her calm.

He was grateful Oliver hadn't ended the video call. If he hadn't demanded her attention, she probably would've left as soon as she collected herself. There, she could've ran into the monster once again. Or best case scenario, she'd go home where she was alone and scared. And he would've been none the wiser.

Thankfully, Oliver was there. He coerced her into telling him what happened. He talked to her until she was comfortable again. Until she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep. Lin almost envied his ability to get so much information out of her. Of course, it probably helped that he could just get a reading off of her old hair bow their father had given him.

Lin hadn't fully forgiven him for withholding that little piece of information. He could've found her months ago and already had her settled in her new home. Then, this monster never would've set his sights on her. She would be safe with her family.

Of course, he might have never grown so attached to her. He wouldn't witness her hard work and determination. He never would've appreciated how easily she jumped in to help someone - even when she was the one who needed the help. He probably would've just brought her to the Davis family and then distanced himself.

But now? There was no way he could do that. He had to be involved in her life in some way. Although he had his own preference as to what he wanted to be for her, he'd take any way she'd allow. Just so long as he could be by her side.

With this thought in mind, he left his hotel room in search of her. It was almost time for her shift to be over and he'd promised he'd meet her at the restaurant. He wanted to eradicate any chances of her being alone. Especially since his hallway was the last place the creeper had seen her.

He found her just where he'd left her after eating breakfast. She stood at the counter, listening to whatever Matsuzaki was saying. Her expression was blank until she saw him. Then, she smiled. Like she was happy to see him. Like she wasn't completely forced into this situation. And she had him smiling back.

As he got closer, Matsuzaki turned around to appraise him. It wasn't like last time, where she seemed to glare at him for simply existing. She was more thoughtful this time. It was almost as if she was sizing him up to see if he was actually a threat or a possible ally. Lin wasn't really sure what she expected from him, so he ignored her.

Instead, he kept his full attention on Mai. "How'd it go today?"

"Slow and uneventful!" was Mai's chipper response. Her eyes were brighter, but her shoulders were still tight.

"Are you ready?"

He'd asked that question earlier. Then, her state was delicate. Her fears had taken hold of her and locked her in place he couldn't reach. He wanted to pull her out. He wanted to wrap his arms around her. He wanted to let her know she was safe. Instead, he settled for reaching out and touching her face. But then she leaned into his touch and looked up at him with those beautiful brown eyes. It took every ounce of self control to not pull her into his arms right then.

"Yeah, I'm ready," she smiled now, her state greatly improved.

As she moved to leave with him, Matzusaki stopped her, "Remember everything I've taught you. And know that I'm always right here."

"Thank you, Ayako!" Mai giggled, causing Lin to wonder what exactly the nurse had taught her. "I'll be okay."

Matzusaki glared at Lin for a second before her gaze softened. "Yeah, you'll be fine."

With that, she let the two of them go. They walked most of their journey in silence. Lin was preoccupied with keeping an eye out for any unusual people while also making sure she stayed in his line of sight. It wasn't until they were alone in the elevator that Mai broke the quiet.

"I'm sorry about Ayako. She's a little protective. I told her about last night and then I had to tell her about you. At first she didn't like the idea at all, but then she warmed up to it. Also, one of my bosses might be under the impression we're dating. She saw you dropping me off and made a comment, but I wasn't entirely with it enough to correct her. But don't worry, you won't get into any trouble. There's no policy on dating guests and it surprisingly happens a lot," she started rambling.

Lin could only stare as she listed different co-workers and the guests they'd hooked up with. He knew she was probably just nervous, but he wasn't about to stop her. This was the most she'd spoken to him.

Gene had a tendency to talk a lot when he was nervous. Oliver had always found it annoying. Lin never really cared one way or another. But with Mai, he was starting to find the trait rather endearing.

"So, when I first told Ayako she tried the say the culprit was the spirit that was haunting her yesterday afternoon," she continued talking as they stepped out into the hallway, walking closer to him than she had before. "I didn't tell her that was actually me, but I did return her pen. And when I was asking around to see if anyone had seen anything suspicious, no had seen anything. But they did say something interesting."

She paused to greet the elderly lady who stayed a few rooms down from his. She'd been there for longer than he had, but he didn't know her name or anything. Of course Mai knew her. She even asked about her grandchildren - by name. Which inspired a blessedly short explanation that the elderly lady was actually heading out go greet her granddaughter who was to stay with her for a few days.

Mai responded to the news with enthusiasm, but Lin caught stiffness in her form. She did caution the lady that some rough characters had been hanging around, but Lin wasn't sure she was listening for all her excitement. When the lady left, Mai fell silent. Her thoughts were louder than the words she'd been spilling throughout the journey.

Lin ushered her into his room, letting the door close before disrupting her thoughts, "What did your co-workers say that was of interest?"

She turned to him with wide eyes. He wasn't sure if she had forgotten what she said or if she was surprised he was listening. Either way, it took a moment for her to respond.

"Oh! Well, I'm not sure interesting was the right word. Scary? Disturbing?" she was mumbling to herself. "Anyway, it's rumored that two of the missing girls were last seen here at the hotel. Well, at the bar."

"So, this must be a place he frequents," he sighed, walking past her to grab the phone he'd thrown on the bed earlier.

"Yep," she agreed with an equal amount of enthusiasm.

Using the phone, he tapped out a message to the twins to let them know Mai was safe with him. They wouldn't see it until they woke up later, but they'd want to know right away. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mai crouching down by her stuff.

"Did I forget anything?"

She rustled through the boxes quietly. Her back was to him, so he couldn't see her expression. "Did you pack my whole apartment?"

"Most of it," he admitted. "I put the bag you packed in the bathroom."

She merely hummed in response. Her mind was more focused on the things he packed, the things he'd seen. Most girls would've been worried about someone going through her underwear. Mai undoubtedly had a different worry going through her mind. The bottom box that was filled with books also held her important papers, her memories, her school name tag. And the name Taniyama was written all over these things.

He watched as she stared down the contents of that box. He wished he could see her face to know what she was thinking. He was pretty sure whatever it was, she regretted giving him her key earlier. Slowly, she closed the box up and sat the others on top.

"Can I set up my tea kettle?" she turned around to ask. Any thought she'd had a moment ago was locked away from him.

"Please do,"

"Thanks!" she smiled at him before placing her electric tea kettle next to the coffee pot on the dresser.

As she set up two cups and started the process, Lin noticed his shiki hovering around her. Yi was resting on her shoulder, where she seemed to claim as her new home. Chen had joined Yi and the two were buzzing comfortably. Ayumu and Qing were vibrating above her hands, intrigued by what she was doing. Jun floated a little distance away, keeping a watchful eye. They were all happy to have her here, content with keeping her close. And Lin couldn't agree more.

When she was done, she handed him one of the cups. He was surprised to be hit by the familiar smell of Earl Grey. The taste brought him back to his home in England. To working long hours in Oliver's study. He smiled.

"Thank you,"

"No, thank you! This is the least I could do since you've done so much for me,"

She sat on the bed with her legs crossed, putting a few feet between them. Her hands wrapped around her own cup. The smell of chamomile and lavender floated up around her. Her eyes were downcast.

Without a thought, he bridged the small distance, reaching out and taking hold of her wrist. She peered up at him then. Her curious brown eyes did something to his heart, momentarily taking his tongue with it.

"I want you here," he said after staring at her for a little too long. "I want you safe."

Her beautiful eyes widened, her lips parted slightly. Then, she blinked. A heart stopping smile spread across her face. All the fears and tension from the past few days were erased.

Something between them shifted in that moment. He knew that whatever they'd been before was gone. Whatever they were now was something new, something exciting, something he'd never felt before. It terrified him as much as it intrigued him.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A comfortable routine had formed over the next few days. Mai would wake up early. Sometimes she'd wake up facing Lin. Other times, her back would be to him. But he always had one hand on her waist.

Then, Lin would drop her off at work. She'd work until the afternoon, usually seeing him a couple times in the interim, and then he'd come pick her up. They'd kill a couple hours by working on her training. They'd work on that until dinner time, where Lin would either pick something up or have something delivered. After that, they'd go to bed and start the whole process over again.

It was surprisingly easy. She'd expected a more difficult transition. They were both two different people who'd been thrown into a small room together. They didn't even have the advantage that most people had when they moved in together. Most people knew each other better first.

But just a few weeks ago, Lin was a handsome stranger she served breakfast to. A few weeks ago, she never would've imagined they'd get so close. She never would've thought he'd be so open with her. He was far from a stranger now.

Under the cover of night, he'd tell her stories about his life back home. He told her about his parents and his sister. About how they moved from Hong Kong to England. He talked about meeting the Davis family, the professors and their twin. boys. He had her falling off the bed laughing at the trouble they'd get into.

She opened up to him a little bit in return. She told him tales of growing up with her mother. She spoke of Bou-san and Ayako and Yasu - all the people she cared about. She mentioned her father briefly, but never by name.

But it wasn't because of fear anymore. Even if (by some impossible, miraculous power) he hadn't seen her real name plastered over every inch of her stuff, she didn't care. As Yasu had reminded her a few days ago (or was it a lifetime ago?), she was still Mai. It didn't matter if she went by Taniyama or Shibuya.

Besides, she had bigger problems to worry about. Although she had grown comfortable in the bubble Lin had brought her into, she couldn't forget what lay outside of it. When she was at work, she was always looking over her shoulder. Even though it was broad daylight, she was waiting for him to jump out and grab her.

She kept scanning the news and the missing person boards. She was looking for signs of him striking again. And on the astral plane, she was searching for more victims. She and Yi had actually stumbled across one already.

Mai was forced to watch what he did to her. This one, he hadn't meant to kill. He hadn't meant to get so out of control. In a panic, he shoved her body into the backseat of an unlocked car. This poor woman was probably his first victim.

She was a stewardess who'd been staying at the hotel. She'd just returned from a night out with friends. She had her phone in her hand, excited to call her mother when she made it to her room. She never made it out of the parking garage.

Mai had given Lin a fright when she came back from that one. The whole scene had turned her into a blubbering mess. When she told him what happened, she was pretty sure he was going to scold her. But instead he just put his hand on her head and looked at her with a sad expression. She would've preferred the scolding.

At the time, she was supposed to be working with Ayumu, Lin's newest and youngest shiki. He was only a little older than her when he got into a car accident. His older sister was Madoka Mori, the Madoka that Gene and Lin had mentioned. Mai knew this because what they'd been trying to master was seeing the lives of spirits before their death. To push the visions back in time so she could get a better picture.

Ayumu was a sweet spirit, sharing his life with her all the way back into his pre-teen years. Somewhere down the rabbit hole of his past, the Mori's had met Lin and the Davis family. Mai had the misfortune to witness the beginning of a blossoming crush that Madoka held for Lin - through the eyes of Ayumu.

It was difficult to watch. She had no way of knowing if Madoka's feelings still existed or if they'd grown exponentially or if they were even reciprocated. She was pretty sure, judging by how often she contacted him, that the feelings remained. But while he hadn't given her any indication that they were exclusive, he hadn't said anything to the contrary either.

Mai knew where she stood. And that was on shaky ground. Falling deeper and deeper into the abyss that was love and uncertainty. She'd given up trying to fight it. Her heart had already been ripped from her chest and served in front of him on a silver platter.

Even though this bliss, this contentment, this little piece of heaven was only temporary. Even though he could leave and run six thousand miles away. Even though at any moment, the shoe would drop. And she'd be left alone with her heart shattered in a million pieces.

It was a small price to pay, she supposed: her heart for her life. She knew, from the moment he told her he actually wanted her here, that there was no going back. There was no way to keep her guard up when he was so close all the time. Not when he was speaking to her so softly, or looking at her so warmly, or touching her with his warm, soft hands.

Nope, her fate had already been decided. Now, all she could do was enjoy it until the inevitable heartbreak. Hopefully it'd last until this monster was caught, though. She wasn't sure she could handle a broken heart and impending doom.

But he probably wouldn't leave until afterwards. Regardless of what he may or may not have felt for her, he'd proved to be very protective. Some days, she was surprised he even let her go outside the room. He almost hadn't this morning.

Old Mrs. Nozumi had knocked on the door right before Mai left for work. The granddaughter that was visiting had left the room sometime last night to grab some ice and hadn't returned. The ice machine was right around the corner.

Mrs. Nozumi had gone to the police right afterwards. Mai knew deep in her heart that it wouldn't help. The police wouldn't find her. The others were out there somewhere and they hadn't found them. No, she wasn't coming back.

Hot, angry tears fell from Mai's eyes as she sat on the edge of Lin's bed. She was only nineteen. She had dreams of being a doctor. And she had the brains to do it. Her grandmother was always bragging about her; about her grades, about her friends, about her love for her family. The family she'd been ripped away from.

And all Mai could do was sit here and wait. Wait for the next victim to disappear. Wait for the monster to choose someone new to fill his insatiable taste for blood. She hated it! She wanted to do something, anything to get him off the streets and where he belonged. Whether that was rotting in jail or burning in hell, she really didn't care at this point. She just wanted him gone. And she didn't want another girl to fall into his hands.

But no. She could only sit, and wait, and cry. She was alone at the moment - sort of. Lin had something he needed to pick up, but was reluctant. It took a lot of convincing, but she eventually managed to get him out the door. He'd left Yi, Jun, and Ayumu with her, though.

While she watched them fuss over her, an idea came into her head. She and Yi had managed to find the spirit of the stewardess while on the astral plane. With Ayumu, she learned how to push a vision back in time. What if she used those skills to find the spirit of the girl who'd followed him willingly and then backtracked to earlier in the night?

-"Yi, I want to go to the spirit realm. Will you help me?"-

The bright spirit bobbed up and down, agreeable. Without another thought, Mai laid down on the bed. She cleared her mind and steadied her breathing the way Lin had taught her. She closed her eyes, focusing only on reaching that place.

Within minutes, her body felt light. She opened her eyes to find herself floating in the familiar abyss. Millions of orbs lit up the darkness. Yi floated beside her, taking her more human form. But she shone just as bright, if not brighter.

-"Why are we here, Mai?"- she pierced Mai with her gaze, both curious and concerned.

-"I need to find one of those girls. Aiko Yamaguchi,"- Mai remembered her name from her missing persons poster. Yi frowned, disturbed by that answer, but nodded nonetheless.

Mai closed her eyes again. This time she focused on Aiko's spirit. She tried to channel the sights and the emotions from the vision, letting them lead her. When she opened her eyes again, only one orb stood in front of her. Mai reached out to touch it. For a second after her fingers brushed up against it, it took the form of a young woman. Of Akio.

Then, all too quickly, Mai was pulled in. She was drowning in fear. She was gasping for breath as the hands wrapped tighter around her neck. It took everything she had to remind herself that it wasn't her. That she had a job to do. She pushed back, pressing the rewind button on this vision. She didn't stop until she found herself at the hotel bar.

There, the taste of some fruity drink laced her teeth. There, an older man with dark, piercing eyes flirted with her. He paid attention to her. He made her laugh, made her feel special. The more fruity drink she drank, the more she liked him. The more she liked him, the bigger he smiled. She liked it when he smiled.

His smile is what had her following him out the door and through the busy streets. He held her hand, laughing with her when she stumbled every now and then. He led down the block and into a dilapidated warehouse. "It's better on the inside," he joked. She followed him in.

Mai recognized this warehouse. She saw it almost everyday - when she wasn't crashing at Lin's hotel room. It was an abandoned building that sat directly behind her apartment complex. Her kitchen window looked right into the broken windows at the top. That thought made her sick as her current host chased after her own demise.

Now that she was here, she couldn't leave until the vision was over. She had to wait until she saw the other girls chained up to the walls. Until she saw the table covered in blood. The table that he tried to get her on. The table she ran from.

With his success quickly turning to failure, he immediately changed. No longer was he charming and smiling. Instead, he was a monster full of rage. "How dare you try to escape me? I'm Vlad! And I won't be satisfied without your blood."

He caught her easily - fear and alcohol working against her. In his anger, in his fury, he wrapped his hands around her neck. He squeezed tighter and tighter. Taking pleasure in watching her struggle, in watching her die. And then everything went black.

Mai shot up, gasping for breath like she had so many times before. Jun and Ayumu buzzed around her, agitated by her state. She ignored them while she steadied herself. As soon as she felt well enough, she jumped off the bed to grab a pen and paper. On the complimentary notepad, she wrote the address to the warehouse. Although, she doubted she'd forget, she felt better having it for someone else to see. To add some peace of mind, she wrote "VLAD" at the top.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

Cautiously, Mai crept up to the door. Standing on her tiptoes, she looked out through the peephole. She half expected to see Vlad standing there, back for more. At best case scenario, she thought it might be Mrs. Nozumi again.

What she was not expecting was the familiar, Kimono clad medium. Her light black eyes scrutinized her surroundings. Her mouth turned down in a frown.

Everything in Mai screamed that this was wrong. Not because she couldn't imagine what Masako was doing standing outside Lin's hotel room this late in the evening. But she was here, alone, in a hallway where a predator was on the loose.

Mai threw the door open and pulled her in. Masako made noises of protest, but Mai was busy surveying the hall and slamming the door. When she turned around, Masako was staring at her with a look that was almost affronted.

"Heya, Masako!" Mai grinned sheepishly. "What brings you here?"

Masako huffed. She straightened out the fabric of her clothes. "I was here to drop off the check for Lin-san's services last week. I wasn't expecting to be assaulted in such a manner."

Mai rolled her eyes. "The hallways aren't really safe at the moment."

"Are they ever?" Masako chirped, her eyes now appraising the room. She paused when she saw Mai's duffel bag half open. "When do you guys leave?"

"What?" Mai blinked. "I'm not going anywhere that I'm aware of."

"Really?" Masako's gaze fell on her. There was something in her eyes that said she knew something Mai didn't. "I just assumed since you're here and your bags are packed. Have they not told you?"

"Told me what?" Mai's eyes narrowed.

"The people that Lin's working for, the Davis family, are the ones who've been looking for you,"

Mai froze. None of them had mentioned it. Although there had been plenty of opportunity in the past few days. What did they even want with her? It must've been something pretty big if they went through the trouble of asking Masako.

"No one's said anything," Mai shrugged, trying to play nonchalance. "Of course, there's a lot going on at the moment. Whatever they want might not be that important."

"I see," Masako clicked her tongue, disappointed. She sat an envelope on top of Lin's keyboard. "Well, I can't stay. I have a dinner appointment to get to."

"No!" Mai startled them both with her shout. "It's dangerous for you to go out there alone."

"I can't stay here," Masako argued. "My manager is waiting for me out in the car."

Mai stood in front of the door with her arms crossed. Internally, she was weighing her options. She wasn't about sit and wait while another of her friends went missing. She sighed, resigning herself to her fate.

"I'll walk you to your car,"

They stepped out into the hall together. Despite her resignation, every fiber in her being still screamed at her to turn back around. Every nerve was on edge. Her eyes darted to every corner and crevice. She jumped at every noise. Her heart hammered in her chest.

"So, uh, where is your manager parked?" Mai asked as they entered the blissfully empty elevator.

"The parking garage," Masako answered as if that was the most obvious place.

"Oh,"

The further they went, the more Mai realized this was a really bad idea. She should've tried harder to get her to stay. Or had her call her manager to come escort her back. They never should've left the safety of the hotel room.

Every bad feeling she had only intensified when they entered the parking garage. She led the way, with Masako trailing behind her. Her eyes swept their surroundings, but she couldn't see anything. That didn't give her any comfort, though. The place wasn't exactly well lit and there were far too many shadows to hide in. And the sounds of the busy traffic outside drowned out their footsteps. They were going in blind.

She was just about to abort mission. To tell Masako to forget her dinner plans if she wanted to live. Then, she heard something above the noise. A small whimper barely loud enough to be heard.

Slowly, she turned around. Panic gripped her as she moved. There, he stood. With his arm around Masako. With a knife to her neck. And he grinned.


	8. No, We're Not Promised Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A heartbreaking scream pierced the quiet. The metallic smell of blood hit him as he went in further. His stomach rolled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

It was half past eight when Oliver settled into his study. He'd already had a healthy breakfast, courtesy of Luella. He didn't have much work to do, since he and Martin had finished their latest project the day prior. And Gene was still lazing in bed.

Oliver figured that now would be as good a time as any to check in on Mai. He hadn't done it much in the past few days. The part of the day he was worried about, where she was working and potentially alone, he was usually asleep for. Then, the rest of the day she spent with Lin. He knew she was safe then. Plus, he really didn't want to watch as they talked and made googly eyes at each other.

But he'd been restless for the past couple days. Another day she spent over there was another opportunity for the monster to find her. He wanted her home. He wanted her safe.

He and Lin had discussed their plan of action. They'd agreed it'd be best to wait until the DNA results came in before they told her the whole truth. They hoped that if she saw the proof, she'd be more willing to accept it. Then, they'd start convincing her to fly home.

If her reaction to Lin was any indication, Oliver doubted it would take much to convince her. Plus, she had mentioned being open to meeting any potential siblings. He just hoped that still held true when those siblings asked her to move almost six thousand miles away.

Lin was supposed to pick up the results today. Which meant that Mai was alone in the hotel room. He had no reason to believe she was in any danger there, so long as she stayed in the room. But he was still curious as to how she was feeling.

He reached out for the old, faded hair bow. His fingers had barely brushed against the fabric, his guard still mostly in place, when strong emotions washed over him. He gasped, crushing the bow in his hand. Before he knew it, he was pulled in.

He was in her body, stumbling into a decrepit building. Ahead of her, a man had his back to her. He held a girl in front of him, keeping her close. Oliver thought he recognized the Kimono fabric the girl wore. Masako Hara. Sadness, anger, and fear coursed through Mai's veins making a volatile cocktail of emotions. The strength of it had Oliver reeling as much as it drew him in.

She tried to think. She had to think. She had to do something. She couldn't let Masako get hurt by this man. A technique crossed her mind. She'd been forbidden to use it on living people unless it was a last resort. This was definitely a last resort and that monster could hardly be considered a person.

She held her hands the way she'd been taught. With each quiet whisper, she sliced through the air in a different direction. She'd successfully used the nine cuts. The man cried out in pain, dropping Masako to the ground.

Mai didn't waste any time to pull Masako out from under him. She got her up on her feet, pushing her towards the exit. Masako sprinted for the door and Mai was right behind her. But while she'd been helping Masako, the man had been recovering. He grabbed Mai by the hair, pulling her back to him.

Mai cried out in pain. The man only tugged harder. Masako glanced back, horror stricken. Mai yelled out to her, "Run! Run!"

She listened, leaving Mai alone with the monster. The monster chuckled. He was amused by this turn of events. "You think you've won something? I only wanted you all along."

Mai sniffled. Tears streamed down her face as the pain in her head worsened. The monster resumed the trek through the disgusting building, dragging her by her hair. He led her through a door. Down some stairs. Through twist and turns in the darkness.

The smell of blood grew stronger the further they went. Mai's stomach clenched. Images of previous visions flashed through her mind. Oliver was overcome with a nausea he couldn't tell was his or hers.

All too soon, they came to another door. Mai's entire body locked up as she recognized it. He threw it open and shoved her inside. The abrupt movement made Mai loose her footing. She fell to the floor. Her body landed in a dark, sticky liquid.

In the dark, she couldn't see where it came from. But then he flipped the switch. Bright lights illuminated the torture room. Mai knew from her visions that there would be an examination table in the center of the room. Chains would line the walls, possible holding other girls. But in this moment, she couldn't see that.

All she could see was the girl on the floor a few inches from her face. Her body was slumped over. Her naked skin was pale. Her eyes were open wide, lifeless. Her blood pooled around her. It joined the flood of blood on the floor. Soaking into Mai's clothes. Staining her skin. She screamed.

As she screamed, Oliver felt his control slip. The familiar buzz of energy broke free. His veins turned into live wires. Her strong emotions mixed with his, creating a perfect storm. Through the chaos, he could feel someone tugging at him. They were trying to pull him away from her. He resisted them - he resisted logic. He needed to be with her. He needed her to stay alive. But still, he was ripped from her.

He opened his eyes up to find Madoka hovering over him. She was frantic. Words were spilling from her mouth. Tears were falling down her cheeks. He couldn't hear her, though. A barrier of energy stood between them. Dark spots clouded his vision. His thoughts were only on one thing, "Mai!"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lin rushed through his task. The packet in his hands wasn't nearly as important as getting back to Mai. He really shouldn't have left her after this morning's news. He should've stayed with her. If not for her safety, then for her mental state. She naturally hadn't taken the news well. He feared the places her mind would take her if she was left alone for too long.

He hadn't been particularly worried about her safety. Well, no more than usual. She was hidden and protected so long as she was inside his room. And she had no reason to leave it. There shouldn't have been any reason for the door to open until he returned.

But even so, he was getting antsy as he entered the hotel. The distance that had grown easy these past few days now felt like torture. His pace quickened with every step closer he got to the hotel room. With every step closer to where she was supposed to be.

Finally, he'd made it to his door. His shiki, Chen and Qing, fazed through the door ahead of him. He fumbled in his pocket, searching for the key card. He slid it through the electronic reader. The lock trilled, granting him entrance.

The room was empty. Lin tried his best not to be unnerved as he walked in. He threw the packet on the bed and looked towards the bathroom. The door wasn't quite closed all the way.

"Mai?" he called out. Silence answered him.

"She's not here," Ayumu buzzed.

He hovered over the desk, bringing Lin's attention to the envelope sitting atop his laptop's keyboard. Lin opened it to find a check from Hara. He didn't have much time to dwell on it as Ayumu pointed him towards the notepad on the desk. A name and an address was scratched on the surface.

"Mai found his hideout," Ayumu explained. "He's taken them there."

All the air left Lin's lungs. His gut felt like it'd been punched. Panic seized him. Mai was gone. The monster had taken her. She was there with him now.

Lin willed himself to get a grip. With shaking hands, he looked up the address Mai had left. It was close, too close. But right now that worked in his favor. Without a moment to lose, he ran out of the room.

On the way back out, he noticed the police officers he'd passed earlier. He called out to them, asking them for help. He didn't give many details, but they followed him when he mentioned the missing girl. He knew he'd probably have to answer a ton of questions when this was over, but that didn't matter right now. The only thing that mattered was keeping Mai safe.

He tried not to think about how long she'd been gone. He tried not to imagine what she may have already went through. He kept his focus on finding her. The abandoned warehouse she'd led him to was only a block away. One of the first things he noticed was how closely it was situated to her apartment.

The second thing he noticed was the young woman running away from the old building. Disappointment flooded Lin when it wasn't Mai. Instead, Hara rushed out to them in a panic.

"He has Mai!" she cried out.

Lin ran into the building, not sparing her another glance. He surveyed the vast space. It was empty except for some debris and some abandoned equipment. At the far end of the building, a door stood slightly ajar. His shiki hovered around it, sensing that Mai lay beyond.

Lin threw the door open, finding the entrance to a stairwell. He followed his shiki downwards. They led him through the darkness. Their light illuminated the twisted labyrinth they walked through.

A few of the policemen were close behind. He caught the beam of their flashlights on occasion. He wasn't about to wait for them, though. He wasn't stopping until he had Mai back.

After several twists and turns, a heartbreaking scream pierced the quiet. Lin quickened his pace. His heart pounded in his chest. Mai!

He raced through the maze. Each turn brought him closer to her. The metallic smell of blood hit him as he went in further. His stomach rolled. She had to be near.

Finally, he reached another door. Light filtered through the seams. Sounds of metal clanking and whimpering escaped through the cracks. He burst through the door.

He found Mai several feet away. She was strapped to a table. Blood covered most of her body. A knife hung dangerously close to her skin. Her wide eyes, wet with tears, met his. Terror gripped him.

The monster's face hovered an inch above hers. His grin faltered when he noticed Lin. He lifted the knife in his hand. He held it above her chest. He steadied himself for the plunge.

Lin wasn't going to make it. He was too far away. He whistled to his shiki. Granting them the permission to do what they'd wanted to since the beginning.

They cut through the monster, sending him staggering back. He dropped the knife onto the floor, his lifeless body followed it. Blood splattered from the impact. The cause of death would be ruled as a heart-attack. The shiki left to recover.

Lin sprinted to Mai's side. His shaking hands undid the straps that tied her down. Her body trembled from the sobs that escaped her. Once she was free, he pulled her into his arms.

He held her close. He didn't care about the blood seeping into his clothes. Or the bodies piled on the floor. Or the policemen filing into the room. The only thing that mattered was she was safe.

He reveled in the feeling of her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He buried his face in her hair. He had to keep telling himself she was okay. She was alive.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that. He only knew it was too soon when the medic pulled them apart. He stayed close, watching as they looked her over.

As he noted earlier, blood covered her body. Tracks of tears and blood stained her face. Her clothes were tattered and torn. Luckily, her physical injuries were minimal. Bruises were forming in various places, mostly where the straps had been. There were a few scrapes, but nothing too serious.

Lin thought he could breathe again once they were finished. But then, the police wanted their statements. At least for that, they got out of that awful room. The medic had given the okay, so he carried her outside.

She hid her face in his neck. Hot tears fell as she shielded herself from the horrors they left behind. He didn't blame her - the things they'd seen were sure to haunt them for a long time. All they could do for now was get some distance from it.

As they exited the warehouse, the sun was setting. The city was bathed in the warm, orange light. The sight was a comfort after all that happened. The nightmare had ended with the day.

Mai twisted in his hold, turning her head to see it. He could feel her sigh. "Thank you, Lin-san."

It was the first she'd spoken since he'd found her. The first words he'd heard from her lips since he'd left her earlier that afternoon. Her voice was weak and hoarse. But he'd never been happier to hear it.

He planted a kiss on her head and closed his eyes. She was alive. She was safe. She was with him once more. This time, for good.


	9. What If the Storm Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He'd already achieved the goal, which was to see if she was still alive. She was waiting for him to end it any minute now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

Mai stood in the shower for a long time. Long after the water had run clear. Long after her skin had been rubbed raw. The scalding hot water still couldn't wash the images from her mind.

Reluctantly, she shut it off. The cold air greeted her instantly - the steam only doing so much to trap the heat. She dried herself off a little rougher than she should have considering. Scratches and bruises covered her body, but she didn't mind. The pain was a reminder that she was alive.

She avoided looking at the trash can overflowing with her ruined clothes as she slipped something clean on. She slid into some cozy leggings before pulling a nightshirt over her head. The soft, oversized shirt was not something she remembered owning. Lin must've mixed up their clothes when he picked them out. Too bad for him - it was hers now.

She brushed her teeth vigorously, hoping to scrub the metallic taste from her mouth. But no amount of minty fresh toothpaste, no amount of floral scented body-wash could cover up the smell of blood that lingered. Because it was all in her head. She knew that she probably smelt just fine. But the horrors of that place had seeped into her skin, tainting her mind.

With a sigh, she exited the bathroom. Lin needed a shower, too. She'd left him waiting for it long enough. He'd also come back tainted from that living nightmare. Thankfully, he'd only been slightly covered in the blood instead of drenched it.

When she entered the main area of the hotel room, she found him sitting on the edge of the desk chair. His stained elbows rested on his knees; his head was in his hands. He looked like he'd been in that position since she left.

"I'm out," her voice seemed to thunder in the silence. Her footsteps felt heavy as she walked over to him.

He looked up at her. A small smile was on his face, but a storm still raged in his eyes. The storm had been there since he found her. Since he saved her.

He stood up and brushed the hair away from her forehead. Her hairbrush was on top of her duffel bag, so her hair was still a mess. He didn't seem to mind, though. It didn't stop him from pressing his lips to her damp forehead.

He lingered there for a moment. His hand rested on her shoulder, his grip gentle yet firm. Then, all too soon, he pulled away. He took his warmth with him as he gathered his stuff.

"I'll be quick," he promised.

Mai didn't realize how bad she needed that promise until she watched him disappear into the bathroom. Then, she was all alone. She was truly alone for the first time in weeks. Not even Lin's shiki were there to keep her company. She hadn't seen them since they came to her rescue. Lin said they'd be back, that they were just resting. But she was really missing those comforting spirits.

Mai grabbed her hairbrush and worked on her half-dry hair. Tears sprung to her eyes as she tried to be gentle. Her scalp was still sore from being drug through the maze. She brushed it just enough to be manageable before throwing the brush back in the bag.

When she was done, she crawled into bed and wrapped herself up in the blankets. Curling up around a pillow, she sought any comfort available. She wanted anything that didn't remind her of where she'd been.

She wasn't looking for sleep, though. Which was a good thing since the consistent buzzing of Lin's pillow would've made sleep impossible. After it buzzed a few more times, she lifted her head to look at the culprit. Lin's phone sat on the pillow, the screen lit. Mai grabbed it, being the nosy person she was. She laid back down as she scrolled through the notifications.

There were over a dozen unread texts from Madoka. The last one, the only one she could read without opening, was a mad emoji. To go with the texts, there were eight missed calls. The whole thing was odd. Lin rarely had his phone on vibrate, not wanting to miss any news from home. And he never let Madoka call more than twice before he answered. Tonight, though, he seemed to be avoiding it on purpose.

Mai didn't have the energy to dwell on it too deeply. Though her curiosity was burning, the rest of her was burnt out. She was about to toss the phone over to Lin's side when it buzzed again. The screen changed for the incoming call. But it wasn't Madoka's name on the screen - it was Oliver's.

Mai hesitated, her finger hovering over the green phone icon. This was Lin's phone. She hadn't exactly been given permission to use it. But Oliver (Naru to her) was calling. Naru hardly ever called unless there was a good reason. She swiped to accept.

"Hey, Naru-chan!" She hadn't realized how hoarse her voice still was.

"Mai!" he breathed out in a mix of surprise and relief.

Mai wondered why that was. If the twenty missed calls from Madoka were anything to go by, Lin hadn't been in contact with anyone over there recently. There was no way he could've known what was happening here. While she pondered this, she heard a faint, steady beeping sound coming through the phone's speaker. The sound was all too familiar.

"Are you in the hospital?"

"Are you?" What kind of retort was that?

"No? Why would I be? Is this some weird deflection technique? Because it needs some work," Mai smoothed the surface of her pillow while she waited for a response.

"It was an honest question," Naru practically huffed. "It wouldn't be that difficult to believe you were hospitalized after this evening's events."

"How di-?" Mai's exhausted brain wracked for answers.

Naru knew. He knew. Lin hadn't said anything, which meant he'd gotten his information from another source. Gene had mention that Naru had powers similar to hers, but he channeled them either through a person or an object belonging to that person. Someway, somehow, he had something belonging to her. But how? Why?

Masako had mentioned something when she came to hotel room. It seemed like a year ago, though it had only been a few hours. Before all hell broke loose. She mentioned that the Davis family wanted Mai and they'd sent Lin to find her. What did they want from her? What did she possibly have to give?

"How much did you see?" she whispered, afraid to voice her other questions.

"Not enough," he hissed angrily. "Why were you even there? You were supposed to stay in the room. You were supposed to be safe."

Mai heard the concern bleeding through his fury. Whatever reason they wanted her for, at least he seemed to care for her well-being. Though the thought should've comforted her, it mostly left her feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

There was a pause before he spoke again, "Are you okay?"

"I'm alive," she shrugged. She wasn't lying on a table with a knife stuck in her chest. She wasn't at the mercy of a monster. She wasn't bleeding out on the floor, surrounded by lifeless bodies. "I suppose I'm doing pretty well."

Naru made a scoffing noise, clearly not buying it. A lull fell in the conversation, allowing the beep of his heart monitor to make itself known again. Reminding her of where he was. Mai slowly tried to piece things together.

Through some mystery object of hers, he'd experienced her nightmare. Her emotions must have affected him, spurring the release of his other psychic powers. Lin had once told her that Naru had psychokinesis, or the ability to move things with just his mind. But if he lost control of it, it could be deadly.

"Are you in the hospital because of me?" she asked quietly, the consequence of her actions weighing heavier than before.

"I'm in the hospital being treated for anemia and overexertion. I fail to see how you could've caused that," his stubborn rebuttal confirmed her fears. And had a laugh bubbling inside her. "I don't understand the humor."

"I'm sorry," she sobered rather quickly, "for everything."

Silence fell until he broke it. His voice barely registering through the speaker, "Just don't do something so reckless again."

"I promise," she smiled. "I have no desire to do anything like that ever again."

He was quiet again. The conversation stalled. He'd already achieved the goal for this phone call, which was to see if she was still alive. She was waiting for him to end it any minute now.

Instead he surprised her, "You have questions."

It wasn't a question, but a statement. Mai wondered how much he already knew about her - to be able to read her like a book. She didn't know how she felt about that.

She searched for the best way to start, but it was hard. Her curiosities grew every time she learned something new. She wanted to find the strand that would unravel the whole mystery. "How do you know me?"

"Would you believe me if I said I know you through our father?"

Mai sat up like a different position would help her digest his response. He'd said our father. As in her father and his father. As in they were the same father. The same man who had abandoned her at five years old, almost six years after the twins were born.

"How - ?"

Lin had returned by this point. If he was surprised she was using his phone, he didn't show it. Her eyes followed him, but her mind was still with Naru. Though a large part of her was certainly distracted when he slid into bed, pulling her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. Mai felt all her tension lift as she snuggled into him.

"He came to us several months ago, hoping to reconnect," the disdain in his voice betrayed how he really felt. "When that didn't go as well as he hoped, he mentioned you. I think he wanted some leverage, something stronger to tie us to him."

Mai closed her eyes. The smell of Lin's body-wash made thought difficult. As was his hands running gently through her hair, massaging the pain away. But she did her best to focus on Naru, on the picture he was painting.

"Are you guys still talking to him?" it didn't sound like they were, but she wanted to be sure.

"No," the distaste in his tone made her smile. "We stopped communicating with him shortly after that. He did, however, give us some useful tools to find you on our own."

"Why?" This was the curiosity that burned the brightest. "Why would you go so far to find me?"

Lin pulled her closer, wrapping her tighter in his arms. His lips were on her head again. It was a habit he seemed to have started that night. It was habit she hoped he never broke.

"Because it's you, Mai!" Gene's chipper voice joined in. "You're the best little sister we could ask for."

She was their sister. She had brothers. She had family. And they actually wanted her, although she still couldn't understand why. She wasn't sure how she was the best little sister. She didn't really feel like the best of anything at the moment (except maybe the best screw up). Still, their words had her feeling warm and fuzzy.

"You're trying to butter me up," she muttered, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Is it working?" Gene asked. His excitement was a welcome change. The somber mood had grown weary.

"I don't know. Keep talking," a giggle escaped her. She felt Lin relax beneath her, though his hold never relinquished.

"I think it'd be a better idea to let you get some rest," Naru spoiled their fun.

"Aw," Mai and Gene pouted at the same time.

"We'll have plenty of time for talking later. Right now, we all need to recover," Naru's words reminded her that he was currently hospitalized.

"Alright," she sighed. "Get feeling better, Naru."

"Of course. I'm not someone to be taken down so easily," Mai giggled again. "We'll talk again soon. There's a lot we have to discuss."

"Mm," Mai agreed. "Bye, guys."

"Bye, Mai!" Gene called out right before the phone beeped. Naru had ended the call without a word.

Mai dropped Lin's phone down on the blankets. She nuzzled her face in his chest, suddenly very aware of how much muscle hid beneath his soft shirt. His heart thumped in her ear like the steady beat of a drum.

They sat in the silence, neither of them willingly to break it. Although, there were several things they needed to say. They also needed this. To lay there in the quiet, thankful to be alive. To be together.

When Mai was being strapped down, her death almost certain, she thought about all the things she'd miss. All the convenience store meet ups with Yasu she'd never get to do. All of Bou-san's songs she'd never hear. All of Ayako's rants she'd never witness. But the thought that surprisingly hurt the most was how much time she'd lose out on with Lin. She'd never get to share his secrets or find out how he felt.

But despite all this and despite her impending doom, she couldn't regret her decision. She hated it with ever fiber of her being, but she wouldn't regret it. She'd prevented another girl from sharing that fate. She saved Masako from dying.

She took some comfort in knowing that Lin would find the note she'd left. She knew he'd catch the monster. Her life would be the last one he'd take. It seemed a small price to pay in comparison.

For once, she'd been glad to not have any family (that she knew of) that cared for her. Her friends would miss her, she knew. But she doubted her disappearance would be earth shattering.

At least, that's what she thought until Lin burst through the door. She saw the panic when her eyes met his. His fear of losing her was stronger than she'd expected. She'd never really felt like her existence had that much impact on someone else. Not until that moment.

It was still hard for her to believe, even as she lay in his arms. As he held onto her like she could disappear at any second. She'd really given him a scare - she was pretty sure she broke him. Guilt flooded through her the more she tried to understand it.

"I'm sorry," her voice shook.

His kissed her head again. He cupped the side of her face with his hand. His thumb caressed her cheek. He breathed deeply, like he was breathing her in. "I'm just glad your okay."

"Are you okay?"

She pushed herself off of him so she could see his face. His eyes were still stormy. His mouth turned down in disappointment. The grip he had on her tightened, preventing her from getting too far. Not that she wanted to.

He stared at her. His eyes ran over her bruised cheek. His gaze lingered on her cut lip. His expression softened when he met her eyes again.

"I will be," he promised.

They sat there, staring at each other for a moment. Then, she reached up, touching his face. Shock colored his features as she traced them with her thumb. It quickly morphed into amusement, the first she'd seen of that emotion all day.

He was smiling by the time her fingers reached his lips. Mai gasped as he grabbed her wrist, gently holding it there. He closed his eyes, pressing a kiss to her fingertips. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her heart hammered in her chest. But this time, it was in a good way.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lin shot up, his eyes frantically searching in the darkness. In his semi-conscious state, it took him a moment to register his surroundings. The sights of his hotel room were a slight comfort. But it was the beautiful creature curled up at his side that let him relax.

He lowered himself back down, facing her. He watched the rise and fall of her chest. He listened to her soft snores. He reached out for her face, feeling the warm skin beneath his touch.

She was alive. She was here. The nightmare was over.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. He was tired of being distant from her. He'd had enough of her being out of reach. This time, she wasn't getting away. He wasn't letting her go again.

She didn't seem to mind it, though. She responded to him by throwing an arm around his side and burying her face in his chest. She showed no signs of wanting to leave any time soon.

He half expected her to lash out at him for not telling her the truth. He still waited for her to push him away. He was afraid she'd misunderstand his actions. That she'd think his concern for her was only because of his job. That she wouldn't see that his feelings ran so much deeper than that.

His regard for her had begun long before he'd so much as suspected her true identity. He'd started to like her when she was only the girl from the hotel who tried so hard to make him smile. He loved the girl that was so concerned for others. The one who would sacrifice herself to protect the ones she loved.

Though, that part concerned him. She seemed to have little concern for her own life. She didn't understand that people would be hurt if she left. He supposed that wasn't her fault. She'd been the only one really looking out for herself for so long. But all that was about to change.

He was going to show her just how much she meant to him - how much her existence meant to the world. And he wouldn't be alone. Oliver and Gene were already working on it, preparing a place she could call home. He just knew Luella would want to spoil her the moment she met her. And she deserved all of it - and more.

Tomorrow, they'd discuss plans of going home. Tomorrow, they'd have all those conversations that they'd been putting off. Tomorrow, he'd tell her he loved her in words, not giving her a chance to second guess his feelings. But for tonight, he was just going to enjoy holding her in his arms. He was going to drink in her scent and drown in her presence.

Because she was here. She was safe. She was alive.


	10. A Place To Call Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly, she was just trying not to think about it - or anything else that was remotely scary. Like the future. Or where they stood. But wanting to bury her head in the sand probably meant the exact opposite of okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

Quiet, that's what she needed. But the stupid door was not cooperating. It beeped loudly and slammed behind her, announcing her arrival to anyone in the general vicinity. So much for sneaking back in.

She smiled sheepishly as she met Lin's gaze. His relief at seeing her quickly changed into a chastising smolder. He was sitting at the desk when she returned. His phone was to his ear, so she was saved from a well deserved lecture. For now.

She'd slipped out while he was in the bathroom, getting dressed. She'd left a note, but business had taken longer than she expected. What was supposed to take a few minutes had turned into two hours.

She probably should've taken in account that Ayako would want to examine her. However, she never would've imagined that Masako would greet her in the lobby (this time, with her manager at her side). Though, her presence wasn't unwelcome.

She'd apologized for last night, which Mai shrugged off with a smile. She comforted Mai by telling her that the spirits of the girls had moved on. Then, they discussed various things over tea. Masako spoke of her career's success. Mai told her the plans for her future.

Because in less than a month, she'd be on a plane headed for England. She and Lin had talked it over (after sleeping until almost noon). The entire Davis family wanted her to live with them. The professors, Gene and Naru's parents, were willing to take whatever legal or financial actions necessary to get her there. To bring her home.

She still couldn't fully process it. She had a family, one she'd never technically met. And they wanted her. They loved her.

They already knew so much about her, probably thanks to Naru's ability. But she knew so little about them. She was looking forward to getting to know them better, but she was nervous at the same time. What if she didn't meet their expectations?

Mai busied herself by making tea. She needed something to calm her nerves. She set up a cup for Lin, as well. Though, his was more of a peace offering.

She could feel his gaze as she worked. His phone conversation was still going through he rarely spoke. Mai could hear long stretches of a female's voice in between his monotone, one word responses. Madoka had called.

Mai was glad she'd been out of the room for the beginning of that conversation. After Naru had hung up, Lin had shut his phone off last night. He'd showed no inclination of returning the steadily growing messages at that time. He chose snuggling with her over talking with Madoka.

Mai still wasn't sure where their relationship lie - either of them. And hearing him talking to Madoka after she spent the night in his arm had her questioning things. Were the cuddles, the caresses, the butterfly inducing kisses a form of platonic affection for him? Or was it a temporary regard borne from the near death situation?

Was he already involved in an almost exclusive relationship? Was she a momentary distraction that would eventually be forgot once he set his eyes on the woman he really loved? Was she the Other Woman?

Her hands trembled as she carried his tea to the desk. She kept her eyes trained on the cup, willing it not to spill all over the place. After successfully setting it in front of him, she still avoided looking at him. She turned around, moving to walk away.

His arm shot out, snaking around her waist and holding her hostage. She had to look at him, then. He stared, studying her, with concern in his eyes. She blinked at him.

"Is everything okay?" he whispered. The voice in the phone was still taking, but his attention was on her.

She gave him a small smile. Reacting on instinct, her fingers reached out to him. They touched the side of his face that wasn't cradling a phone. He leaned into her touch, pulling her closer. She dropped her hand to his shoulder.

["Mai's back, so I have to go,"] he held her gaze as he spoke, his eyes burning. Her heart skipped a beat.

The voice got louder. Mai was close enough she could make out a few words. Madoka was asking about her, worried for her health. She almost sounded contrite. Lin's grip tightened.

["I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunity later,"] Madoka kept talking. ["If she wants,"] He sighed, before forcing a farewell and hanging up.

He sat his phone on the desk, giving her his full attention. His free hand now played with her hair and it took everything in her not to melt right there. She wondered if he even knew the effect he had on her.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, nervous.

"Yes. Oliver's condition wasn't too serious and he should be discharged before the day is out," His response, though a comfort, wasn't what she wanted to know. "Is everything okay with you?"

"Yep, I had no problems putting in my two-week notice. I passed Ayako's physical inspection. And I think I even patched things up with Masako," she gave him a grin that was bit more chipper than she really felt (but it was progress).

His eyes narrowed at the mention of Masako, but he didn't say anything. He blamed her, at least partially, for the incident. Although he hadn't come right out and said it, Mai could tell. He wasn't going to join a Masako Hara fan club any time soon.

"How are you feeling?" he asked instead.

Mai was feeling a lot of things as he pulled her into his lap. Her thighs were straddling his waist, her legs dangling through slats in the chair. She tried not to blush as she stared into his calm, patient eyes. One of her many thoughts was how much closer their heights were in this position. Her head was actually a little bit higher than his.

"I think I'm okay," she said as soon as she was sure she could speak. Mostly, she was just trying not to think about it - or anything else that was remotely scary. Like the future. Or where they stood. But wanting to bury her head in the sand probably meant the exact opposite of okay.

He nodded, but she doubted he believed her. She didn't. His eyes traveled down her bare arms. His fingers gingerly traced the marks the table's straps had left. His voice was heavy when he spoke again, "I'm sorry."

Her heart raced. Her mind spiraled, thinking of all the reasons he had to be sorry for. Thinking of all the things he'd have to let her down easy for. "F-for what?"

"For a lot of things," his gazed burned into hers again as he brought her hand to his lips. "I'm sorry for leaving you," he kissed the back of her hand. "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth when I found out you were the one I was looking for all along," he kissed the inside of her wrist. "And I'm sorry for not being entirely open with you concerning the extent of my feelings," he pressed his lips to her palm, closing his eyes with this final kiss.

Mai was all over the place. Her heart pounded in her chest. The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. Her lungs struggled for air. Her brain refused to work. Her voice sounded so small. "The extent of your feelings?"

He opened his eyes, pinning her down with the intensity in them, "I've fallen in love with you."

Her lungs' access to air was now completely cut off. As was the brain's access to oxygen. Her blood, however, had perfect circulation as it rushed to her face. She had just enough thought to notice the fear on Lin's face before she squeaked out, "Pinch me."

She watched shock turned to relief. A large smile settled on his face. He dropped her hand, choosing to run his fingers through her hair again. She leaned further into him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He relaxed under her touch.

"I know we haven't known each other long," his words tickled her skin, their faces close. "But I know that I don't want to live a life that you're not a part of."

Part of her had a hard time believing him. Her insecurities screamed at her that this was impossible. But a larger part of her knew. She'd known from the start that he was different. That they were different. From the very beginning, she felt that he held the keys to her fate - in more ways than one. He was her future.

She let silence fall between them. Her hand traveled up his neck. She weaved her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. Her eyes flickered to his mouth. She enjoyed his sharp intake of breath as she brought her face closer. She closed the distance, pressing her lips to his.

Warmth filled her as he kissed her back. Pulling her even closer, he left no space between them. His grip was firm, even when they pulled apart. They sat there for a moment. Eyes closed, foreheads touching, breathing each other in.

"I love you," she whispered.

He responded by kissing her again.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To say she was nervous would be an understatement. She was overthinking so much she was starting to think that she'd been less nervous when she was being led through that bloody maze. That was a lie, of course. But her current emotions overshadowed the emotions of the past.

She'd made it through all the lengthy explanations, teary farewells, and promises to keep in touch (which was a feat as both Ayako and Yasu had to pull Bou-san away so they wouldn't miss their flight). She successfully gone through baggage check, a couple lay-overs, and a long flight. Her travel companion had proved to be very engaging, keeping her nerves mostly at bay. His much encouraged distractions, however, only gave her a temporary relief.

All too soon (and yet, not soon enough), the wheels of the plane landed on the runway. They were hustled out of the plane and into the airport. She was a jittery mess the whole wait to claim their luggage. Lin kept an arm around her, pressing his lips to the back of her head in an effort to console her.

"They love you already," he promised her with a smile. She tried to return the smile as she took a deep breath.

She knew they loved her. They had told her as much several times over the past month of video chats. Their actions proved it by taking all the trouble to bring her here. She knew this. Her heart knew this. Still, this little voice in the back of her head kept telling her that they'd change their mind.

This same voice was the one that reminded her that her father had left her, so why would they be any different. She'd been cute and innocent back then. Now, she was damaged and scarred. Why would anyone want her now?

She tried her best to squash that voice as they exited the airport, their luggage in hand. They'd barely stepped out when a woman rushed at them. Her hair was a blur of purple-ish hue as she enveloped Mai in a hug. Mai returned the hug as well as she could with the bags in her hands.

"I'm so happy to get to see you in person!" the woman squealed. She pulled away to get a better look. "You're a little shorter than I expected. And so much cuter."

Mai giggled, "I'm glad to see you, too, Madoka."

And she truly was. While their initial phone calls and video chats had been most awkward, they'd warmed up to each other rather quickly. She'd found Madoka was a force to be reckoned with, but she had a warm heart. Mai really liked her.

"I can see why you wanted to keep her all to yourself, Koujo," She stole half of Mai's luggage as she led them to her car. Lin rolled his eyes, but made no comment.

They loaded the luggage into the trunk (boot?) of Madoka's car. Mai slid into the back seat with Lin sliding in beside her. He slung his arm around her shoulder. His fingers fiddled with her hair as Madoka started the car.

Madoka kept a steady flow of conversation the whole hour drive. She filled Lin in on updates of various coworkers, stopping to describe who she was talking about to Mai. Lin would occasionally make a comment or an addition, but mostly let Madoka do the talking. Mai listened with rapt attention, trying to keep her mind occupied.

Finally, Madoka pulled up in front of a sizable house. Mai could only stare in awe as they got out of the car. She'd never set foot in such a grand place. Even the exquisite lawn had her scared of moving too much, lest she make a wrong step.

That fear, however, quickly dissipated when an excited young man bounded down the front steps. He ran across the lawn, trampling the flowers planted there. His cobalt eyes were shining. His grin grew the closer he came.

"Mai!" He nearly toppled them both over when he wrapped his arms around her.

"Gene!" She shrieked when he picked her up and spun her.

He was still grinning when he sat her back down. Over his shoulder, she could see Naru making his way over at a slower pace. She threw herself at him once he reached them. He returned her hug with an awkward pat, but that was enough for her.

"Welcome home," he whispered in her ear as she pulled away.

She blinked away tears as she looked at the two of them. One with a huge grin, the other with a small smile. Both her brothers, her family. She still couldn't believe it.

["Do come in, darlings,"] a comforting voice called out. Mai looked over to see Luella at the front door. Martin stood close to her. ["I think it's bound to rain any moment."]

["Boys, grab her stuff,"] Madoka ordered, ushering Mai towards the house.

Mai fought a grin as they grumbled, hauling her luggage regardless. Luella pulled her into a warm hug, entering the house. Her twinkling eyes were wet as she fretted over Mai.

["I'm so glad you're here,"] a motherly smile graced her face. ["It'll be a nice change having another girl around."]

["Finally!"] Madoka joked.

Mai only giggled as they led her further into the house. They stopped at a sitting area where several cups of steaming tea sat on a coffee table. Luella offered her one, sitting next to her on the couch.

["I trust the trip went smoothly?"] Martin sat down in a chair adjacent to them. His cup was already in his hand.

["Yes, sir,"] Mai smiled. ["Everything worked out perfectly."]

["Good, good,"] he mused. ["I hope you've found the place to your liking."]

["What's not to like? It's a beautiful country. And from what I've seen, it's filled with wonderful people,"] He chuckled at her response.

["All the more so, now that you're here, darling,"] Luella added, placing her hand on Mai's arm.

Mai had to fight back tears again as she looked into Luella's eyes. In them, she found the love of a mother. A love that was directed towards her. A love she never thought she'd experience again. ["I'm really happy to be here. Thank you so much, for everything."]

["This is nothing, love. It was a small matter to bring you here, where you belong,"] Luella assured her. ["You're family, after all."]

["Which means, you're stuck with us!"] Gene plopped down beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. ["Welcome home, sis."]

Mai giggled, taking in the faces she could now call family. Martin gave her a warm smile, his blue eyes sparkling. Madoka sat across from her, vibrating with excitement. Naru sat beside her, quietly assessing Mai's well being. Beside him sat Lin, eyeing Gene's spot enviously, but he turned to smile encouragingly at her.

Finally, she was home.


	11. Epilogue: Going Back to the Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was the room that started it all. This was where they fell in love. The place that kicked off the best year of his life. And hopefully, it'd be the place that cemented his happiness for every year thereafter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Language Key:  
> Regular = Japanese  
> -Chinese-  
> [English]

One year later...

Lin sat in the familiar room. The room that had once been his home for nearly five months. It had only been a year since he'd left it, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

The past year had been eventful. Mai quickly adjusted to life in England as if she'd always been there. Everyone fell in love her - just as he knew they would. Even his own parents couldn't get enough of her. They were always pestering him to bring her over.

He did so whenever he could, but that wasn't often enough. She had several years worth of catching up to do with her brothers. Plus, she was studying hard to get into a good school. She wanted to become someone her new family could be proud of. He didn't know how she couldn't see how proud they already were.

Still, she persisted. And her hard work payed off. She was to start classes at the very university the professors worked with. To celebrate her admittance, the Davis family surprised her with a trip to see her friends in Japan. So, the entire group had flown out.

Mai was currently introducing the others to her old haunts. Soon, she'd return. She'd come back to the familiar room. She laughed when she saw they were staying at the Shipton Hotel, room 403, but what she didn't know was that he'd planned it that way.

This was the room that started it all. This was where they fell in love. The place that kicked off the best year of his life. And hopefully, it'd be the place that cemented his happiness for every year thereafter.

The small, square box grew heavier in his pocket with each passing moment.

He paced the small room a few times. Reminiscing kept his nerves from going completely haywire. His eyes took in the bathroom where he'd found her passed out in. The desk that he sat at while looking for her, looking at her. The bed where he held her, terrified she'd slip away again. The door she'd entered so many times.

The door she was standing in front of now. She grinned at him, her face glowing. Then, she was throwing herself at him. He caught her with ease, wrapping his arms around her small frame. A smile of his own crept on his face as he held her up.

"Koujo! You should've come with us. I missed you," she pouted. One of her hands curled around the back of his neck, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine.

He hummed, unable to loosen his tongue for a verbal response. He was, however, able to lean in for a kiss. The magnetism that she always seemed to possess drew him in. He pulled closer to her until her body pressed against his. Whatever thoughts he'd been trying to have vanished.

All too soon, she pulled away. Her warm eyes stared at him, a content smile played on her lips. The same lips he wanted to claim again.

"Did you enjoy your moment of peace and quiet?"

"It would've been more enjoyable had you been here with me,"

She giggled, "Well, I'm here. What do you want to do now?"

"There is something I've been wanting to do,"

He stared at her, drinking in the beautiful woman he'd been blessed to know. He sat her down on the edge of the bed. Her eyes twinkled up at him in curiosity. Her poor bottom lip became trapped between her teeth as he knelt down in front of her on both knees.

He took her hands in his. Small and delicate, they always fit perfectly in his own. "Mai Taniyama-Shibuya-Davis."

She giggled at her title, only parts of it ringing true. "Yes?"

"As you know, I'm not a man of many words. So, I'm just going to say this: I love you and I can't imagine a life without you in it,"

Happy tears started forming in her eyes, but she didn't say anything. She waited for him to continue. Both of them stopped breathing for a moment as he reached into his pocket. He held out the ring, simple yet beautiful. "Mai, will you marry me?"

No sooner than the words left his mouth, her arms were thrown around his neck. He could feel her hot tears on his skin. Her voice, laced with emotion, was steady.

"Yes!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of it! Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Titles Inspired By:  
> Chapter 1 - "Far From Home" by Five Finger Death Punch  
> Chapter 2 - "I Had a Dream" by Billie Elish  
> Chapter 3 + 4 - "Get Out Alive" by Three Days Grace  
> Chapter 5 - "Little Wonders" by Rob Thomas  
> Chapter 6 + 7 - "Breathe" by Tommee Profitt (ft, Fleurie)  
> Chapter 8 - "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Megan Trainer  
> Chapter 9 - "The Lightning Strike (What if the Storm Ends)" by Snow Patrol  
> Chapter 10 - "All I've Ever Wanted" by Shinedown  
> Epilogue - "The Scientist" by Coldplay  
> Fic Title - "A Light to Call Home" by Julia Brennan


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